"Damn," said Jessica, looking outside Hangar 1. Though most days in Credenhill were pleasant during the summer, this particular day was thick with rain and dark clouds. "I thought the rain back Stateside was bad..."

Soap was leaned on the door frame. "Really?" he asked. "I thought it was pretty arid."

"Nah, you're thinking of Texas and Arizona." she said. "Down south in Louisiana and Florida, it downpours during late summer... And the Northwest just rains all the time..."

He chuckled. "Well, hopefully, Price won't tell us to run in this crap."

"No, he won't... But I'm going to."

She swiveled her head to him. "... First of all: you bastard," she growled, getting a chuckle in response. "And second: where's Price?"

"In a meetin', apparently he's talkin' with a General in the US Army about doin' co-ops and possibly gettin' more members."

Jess nodded. "Interesting... Who is the General?"

Soap slapped her back a couple of times as he started walking into the rain. "No more questions, we've got a day to get started."

"Gal," said Soap. "Step it up; you're laggin' behind."

She panted and pushed forward. "Yeah, yeah, I know; I'm trying." she muttered. 

Roach looked at her with a put-off expression. "If you hold us up and Soap makes us run this again, I'm soooo gonna kill you." 

Gal huffed and licked her dry lips with a barely damp tongue. "Oh, really? You'll kill me?" she said. "I'd love to see that." She tried to press on a little faster, but she ended up falling further back, and a brief pang of worry surged through her. 

Roach slowed down and grasped her scruff before running a back at his normal pace. "C'mon! I don't want to run this again just because you're tired; let's go!"

She gritted her teeth and picked up the pace again so Roach would stop dragging her, and her stride opened up. Her legs stretched out long and her gait became almost like lunges instead of steps. She was sucking in air by the deepest breaths she could manage, and though her limbs were going numb, she felt an incredible amount of energy.

And then she felt something pop as her right front leg came down to the ground. Her shoulder buckled and she skidded on the ground. A loud explicative escaped her as she shifted and stood again to run, clutching her arm.

Roach fell in beside her. "What happened?" he asked, a mark of concern on his face.

Jess shook her head. "My shoulder fell out..." she groaned through gritted teeth. "I'm fine, don't worry about it."

Though he could go faster without her, he didn't leave the spot by her side. They were close to the end of the trail by now, and it didn't feel right to finish and leave her behind.

She kept the arm close to her side to avoid moving it. They crossed the end of the trail, and she stopped, panting. She wanted to collapse on the ground, but settled for bending over with her hands on her knees.

Roach grabbed her shoulder and looked at her face. "You alright?"

Jessica turned an irked expression to him. "Yes, I'm fine, Roach." she growled. "Leave me alone."

"What happened?" asked Soap. 

"She says her shoulder fell out."

The Lieutenant cocked a brow. "The hell does that mean?" 

"It means nothing. It's just sore." she said.

Soap rolled his neck with a dull crack. "Well, ya made it in enough time. The rest of ya, head to demolitions," he said, turning to the rest of the group. "Ghost, make sure they make it. Gal, stay here."

She worked the muscles in her jaw as they walked away. "... Sir?" she asked quietly.

"Ya need to get your shoulder checked out?"

"No," she replied. "It'll be fine in a minute. I can go to demolitions training."

"Can ya throw anythin'?"

"Yes. I just tweaked it, that's all."

"You're sure? You're not lyin' to me?"

Jess heaved a great sigh. "Yes, I'm positive I'm not lying."

"Throw that rock for me."

She narrowed her eyes and picked up the rock. She reeled her arm back and dropped it. "Okay, maybe after a ten minute rest, it'll be better."

He shrugged. "Alright then. Get outta here." Just as he went to follow her, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Soap picked it up and answered Price. After a brief conversation, he hung up and called to her. "Jess, when you get there, tell everyone to head to Hangar 1 instead; somethin's happenin'."

"Pakistan?" asked Wolcroft.

Price let out a puff on his cigar. "Yes. There's been Ultranationalist Activity in a village in northern Pakistan. An informant has relayed that a large military force moved into the area, but whatever they're doing, they're keeping it quiet."

"How long have they been there, Price?" asked Soap.

"About twenty hours."

"And they haven't done anything..?" asked Jessica.

"No, surprisingly.

"We're to move in and keep a monitor on them, meaning we're heading out by tomorrow at 14:00."

Ghost tilted his head, his eyes narrowed. "Tomorrow? So late in the day? Why not tonight?"

Price folded his hands in front of him. "After I established Task Force 141, Lieutenant General Shepherd and I have been talking about co-operating, and after we got this intel, we decided this would be the best opportunity for our first mission as the new task force. Shepherd's men are flying in tonight to scout the area around the village to make sure there isn't anything else going on, and to clear a path for us if there is." His expression looked ever so slightly exasperated. 

Jessica's stance straightened. "So, we're working with Americans?" 

"Don't get too excited, Gal," said Soap. "Though we're co-operatin', we may never even see 'em while we're there." 

She shrugged. "Either way, I'm still excited to work with them, sir."

The Captain stamped out his cigar. "Right. Start getting yourselves ready and resting up; training is done for the day."

Jessica later walked into a coffee shop not far from the base. She was ready to go for the next day, but the waiting was killing her, and thus, she assumed a cup of tea might get her mind off things.

Surprising, after all this time in England, she hadn't actually had a cup of tea. Though she'd never understood the hype about tea in Britain, it seemed inappropriate to live all this time without getting it at least once. She ordered an Earl Grey, and after finding a table and waiting some time, it came to her table. The drink was far too hot to drink at first, and was nearly boiling. She looked around uncomfortably until finally it was cool enough to take a sip. 

That was quite a pleasant surprise. She'd had tea in the past, but this was far superior to American tea. She grinned lightly and took another sip. "Well," she thought. "Now I understand what the hype is all about." Jess set the cup down and pulled a book from her bag to read while she enjoyed her drink.

But suddenly a familiar face grabbed her attention. Roach was sitting by himself staring at a cup of what she assumed might also be tea. He looked tired and distant. The poor young thing seemed nervous about his first mission.

"Hey."

He looked up at Jessica. "Oh, hey!" he sat up straight. "How's your shoulder?"

She sat across from him. "It's better. I can move it without it hurting. How are you? You're sitting all alone looking dejected."

Roach chuckled. "Oh, I'm alright. Don't worry about me. You're sure you're okay?" he asked.

She smiled. "I'm touched that you're concerned, but really, I'm fine." Jessica gestured to the empty seat across from him and he invited her to sit. "How're you liking it here?"

He shrugged. "It's fine enough... To be honest, all the training I've been through doesn't feel like enough. I'm nervous for my first fight. All it takes is me slipping once and I'll die."

Jessica shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Corporal. We likely won't be fighting when we get there anyway. This is just a short mission, where we check in and make sure that things are on the down low and no one's getting hurt, and then we come home." She picked up her cup again. "Besides, if anything goes awry, we're all right there; we won't let you get hurt, Roach."

Roach grinned. "Good. Thank you." After a beat of silence, he raised his grey eyes to her. "So... how long have you been with the SAS?"

She sipped her tea. "Oh, I guess almost a year now?" she said. "I joined September last year."

"Did you go to school before you joined?"

"No, I was trained by an American Government Agency called SHIELD, who takes care of the beginnings of potential wars before they start, and... We've had some issues butting heads, so they decided I was a better fit here with Captain Price."

Roach cocked a brow. "Why Price of all people?"

"Because he bends the rules where he needs to instead of being painfully bureaucratic." she said with a sly smile.

"You enjoying it?"

She grinned bitterly. "Erm... Yeah, a bit. It's been harder lately after my last mission; we, uh... We lost some guys on that trip... One of them was someone close to me."

He looked sympathetic. "I'm so sorry. I think I heard Price and Soap saying something about that." he said.

Jessica smiled, lightly this time. "But, at the same time, I wouldn't trade anything for it. While it's a blessing to be bored, living a life as exciting and important is this is worth far more than a quiet life, wouldn't you agree?"

Roach grinned. "I do." he said, taking a sip of his coffee. "So, what kind of things did you do before the SAS?"