"Boot camp is just a head game; once you realize that, you're life becomes that much easier." ~ Unknown

She normally wasn't late to formation. But since the funeral, Soap noticed every day she seemed to be less engaged, later than usual, and not keeping up like she should. Finally came the day she didn't show up at all.

He sighed and tossed the butt of his cigar to the ground, stamping it under a heavy foot. "Damn it, Gal..."

"What are you muttering about, Soap?" Price lit a cigar of his own as he stepped out of the armory and let a thin ribbon of silver smoke curl from his lips.

"Jess isn't here yet; she's usually here by now."

The Captain shook his head. "I know. She's not herself lately."

"You don't think it's because of the promotions, do you?" His hand stroked over the new patch on his arm, resisting the urge to pick at the rough end of an untrimmed thread. "She's got more responsibilities now; I wonder if she jumped ship and ran."

"She's not a fool, I don't think she running, Lieutenant."

Soap nodded slowly. "If you say so, sir." He looked once more down the path where she should have been coming from and walked into the armory.

Gal skidded to a halt at Price's feet with a limp, sandy grey rabbit clamped in her jaws. She folded her ears back when his expression seemed less than pleased and put her kill down. "Before you speak, I'm aware that I'm running a little behind."

"A little?" echoed Price. "You should have been here an hour ago."

"For breakfast, yeah, but PT starts in five, doesn't it?"

"It starts in two." Soap released the bolt on his rifle, loudly loading a bullet into the chamber. "Everyone's already here except you."

She sighed heavily and shifted, stumbling as she grabbed the hare. "Guess I'll be eating later."

Price made a disturbed frown. "Thank God, I wouldn't want to watch you gulp that nasty thing down."

"Rabbit isn't nasty..?" She held it closer to her chest, flinching when she felt a dribble of blood down her knuckles and she shook it off. "Alright, maybe this is a little nasty, but..." Price's judgemental stare didn't change and she begrudgingly hung it by its heels as she dropped it into a bin by the armory door. "Now look what you made me do. I wasted a whole rabbit."

A chuckle rippled in the Captain's chest. "You didn't have to throw it away."

"Well I'm not eating it now that it's been in the trash..."

"I can't believe you; you'll eat a raw, stringy rabbit you found God knows where, but you won't eat the same rabbit out of a rubbish bin?" Soap scoffed, swinging his rifle over his shoulder. "You're a bloody mystery, Gal. Get a G3 from the armory, we're startin' with target practice today."

She nodded quietly and went inside, rolling her eyes once she was out of sight. "Should have just swallowed that rabbit when I had the chance..." Jessica rounded the corner and was about to ask the corporal at the desk for a weapon when she noticed two men already standing there; two men she had never seen before.

"Alright, you're all set." The corporal smiled at her. "Hello, Sergeant! Same as them?"

"G3?" She couldn't help but notice the taller of the two men looking over his shoulder at her. Something about his presence made her uneasy in a fascinated way. His brown eyes nearly looked gold in the room's unnatural light, but more interesting to her was that his face was completely covered by a balaclava with a distinct white skull printed on it, weathered and worn from years of use. As their eyes met, he slid a pair of polarized shades down his face, covering the last part of him that looked human, and a trace of a chill ran down her spine.

"Here you are, ma'am." 

She started and saw the G3 sliding across the desk to her. "Hm? Yeah... Thank you!" Jessica took one more look at the two men, trying not to focus on the ghost-like man with his back toward her. In front of him was a younger man, hardly older than twenty or so, but without staring, she couldn't tell much more about him.

Outside, she balanced her rifle on her shoulder and briskly approached the Captain. "Price, who are the FNGs in the armory?"

"Had you gotten here earlier, you would have met them... And heard that I got approval to construct a new task force."

Excitement sparked in her eyes. "What? When?"

"Three days ago."

"Why'd you wait so long to say anything?"

"Thought the new recruits would make a better grand reveal."

She narrowed her eyes. "So, are you going to tell me who they are, or..?"

Price smiled. "No; grand reveals are for people who are on time."

"C'mon, Captain, she'll have to know who we are sooner or later." A rough, gloved hand clapped down on her shoulder and she jumped back to see the man with the balaclava. "And for your information, we're not FNGs, sweetheart." 

She was bristling but maintained her composure. "Well, you're at least 'fucking new' to me. You got names?"

The younger man smiled and reached under the taller man's arm and shook her hand. "I'm Gary; they call me Roach. You're Sergeant Repp?"

"Jessica, but you can call me Galaxy, or Gal if you're in a hurry." She forced a broad smile to him, then turned her eyes back up to the other man. "And you are..?"

Under his mask, a smile tugged at his mouth. "The name's Simon. But it's Ghost to the likes of you, mate." He stooped down so they were at eye level and he could see her become much more uneasy, bulging his cheeks in an even larger smile. "It's fascinating, I'd heard of women in combat roles; never thought I'd meet one in person." 

She wanted to give him a sharp comeback but instantly felt a pang of bitter nostalgia when she remembered that she had said something out of line to Gaz when they met. With a steady breath, she grinned. "You sound enamored. Would you like my autograph while we're standing here?"

Ghost's smile turned genuine and he laughed. "She's funny, Price! Did you recruit her for her entertainment value?"

He shrugged. "No, but it certainly is a bonus some days if you can get past her ill timing."

She grimaced at him. "I use humor to break tension..."

"No matter." Soap stepped to the head of the group. "We're heading to the outdoor range. It's foggy out there this mornin', so it'll give us a chance to shoot barely-visible targets. Let's move."

"Aye, sir." Ghost rolled his neck back and forth with a muted crack. "Let's do this."

Jessica's feet rooted to the ground. His voice... It sounded just like Gaz. She looked at his back as he passed her and for a moment, she felt a haunting sense of familiarity. Was it him? No... It couldn't be, she'd just watched his casket get buried weeks before.

But then again...

Someone cleared their throat beside her and she quickly looked at Roach. "Sorry, he's not very chummy. He was kind of abrasive to me when I first met him."

"Oh, no worries. I know people need time to warm up." She adjusted her rifle to sit more comfortably on her shoulder and shrugged. "I'm sure he'll be fine."