The Will To Live✔️

Chapter 29: Supply Run

Greg walked slowly back into the generator shed and found Izzy on the floor, hard at work bringing the auxiliary generator online.

"Hey, what happened?" she asked without looking up.

"Uh...we're using this as our base of operations, I named it Armitage Station, and I got promoted to Sergeant," he replied.

She looked up immediately. "What? Seriously?"

"Yeah. Gibson felt it appropriate, given that Task Force Reaper needs a leader. And we're allowed to conscript people into our task force," he replied.

"Holy shit, that's awesome." She stood up suddenly. "Wait, why did you get a promotion? Wasn't he raving about what a great duo you and I are?"

"I guess...he didn't think about it? It seemed kind of sudden," he replied with a shrug.

"Okay, hold on." She activated her radio and, apparently, called up Gibson. "Yeah, it's Serrano, Gibson. Why didn't I get promoted?" She paused, listened. Greg wondered if he should tune into the conversation, but then wondered if that might annoy her. "Yeah, I think so. I mean, you said it yourself: we both kicked ass on Polaris." Another pause. Suddenly, she grinned. "Yeah, that works. Yeah, I know, I don't care about that. Okay, thanks...okay." Her grin grew as she looked at him again. "You are now looking at Sergeant Izzy," she said.

"Holy crap, really?"

"Yep!"

"That's awesome. Well, you certainly earned it."

"He also said that you still have operational discretion. So you're still in control. Which I don't care about, honestly. You've done well so far."

"Thanks." His helmet chimed as he received a data packet and he checked it out. It was a map of the local area, with routes to those two structures Gibson had indicated. He sighed softly.

"What?" Izzy asked.

"We've got our next objective, which is bringing this place back online. Which, at the moment, means raiding a pair of structures for resources to fix the generator, and anything else we can find. How long will it take you to get that auxiliary generator back online?" he asked.

"Ten minutes, tops," she replied.

"Okay, get on it. I'm going to go update the others."

"On it," she said, and set back to work.

Greg turned and began jogging around to the front entrance again, his mind working furiously as he considered the situation at large. This was a bit of a task ahead of him, but, well, he had operational discretion. It sounded like he was going to get his wish after all and be left to get the job done how he saw fit. Time to see how good he actually was at leading a squad of people in the middle of an exceptionally dangerous combat zone.

He found Larsen still on guard duty. "With me," he said, walking past him. Larsen fell in step behind him and they walked into the infirmary, where Ellis had just finished hooking an IV into the still-unconscious Laney.

"Is he okay?" Greg asked.

"Probably," Ellis replied. "His vitals are stable. His wounds are cleaned. I'm giving him a transfusion for the blood he's lost, and I've also given him a healthy dose of antibiotics, antivirals, and whatever else I can think of, given how much contact he's had with the Flood, and how filthy they are. What's happening?"

"This place is to be our base of operations as Task Force Reaper. Its designation is Armitage Station. Any forces we come across, we are now allowed to conscript into Task Force Reaper. Gibson just promoted Izzy and I in-field to Sergeants, and I'm officially to head up the task force. Right now, our primary responsibility is to bring this place back up to operational status. Izzy is bringing the auxiliary generator back online, once that's done, she and I are going to take the Warthog and leave. We have two other outposts to investigate for survivors and supplies. While we're gone, I want the two of you to get all the Flood bodies out and onto the landing pad. Don't mess them up otherwise, as they might be needed for research.