FORT BENNING, GEORGIA | DECEMBER 18, 2005
The door to Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment swung open with a gentle creak as William stepped inside. He's in full ACUs, his new ranger tab stitched neatly above his right pocket, PFC chevrons gleaming on his sleeves.
The air reeks of gun oil, sweat, and determination. Something he could not get used to after just arriving yesterday. It was nothing like the relatively controlled environment of RASP.
"PFC LENNOX! FRONT AND CENTER!"
A tall, lean Staff Sergeant with a scar cutting through his left eyebrow barks from the front of the bay. William snaps to attention, heels clicking together so hard they echo off the concrete floor.
"I'm Staff Sergeant Martinez—your platoon sergeant. You're late by thirty seconds. In this unit, late is dead. Understand?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Save the 'sir' for officers. I'm 'Sergeant' or 'Top'—and don't speak unless spoken to. This isn't RASP anymore kid. Out here, we don't train to pass tests—we train to kill targets and come home."
Martinez turns to address the platoon—thirty rangers packed tight in formation, every one of them radiating the same aggressive focus. "What's our motto!?"
"Say little, move fast, learn faster!"
"Again soldiers, you're making me blush!!"
"SAY LITTLE, MOVE FAST, LEARN FASTER!!"
Martinez turned back to William with a gentle smile.
"That's our motto. Live it or leave it."
"Listen up! This is your new teammate—PFC William Lennox. He's fresh out of RASP, and it seems he scored top marks on every evaluation. But here? That means jack shit! You're only as good as your last raid, your last jump, your last kill! Starting tomorrow, you will train with this platoon, here, we train like the enemy is already at our gates—because they might already be!"
THE NEXT MORNING – AIRBORNE TRAINING FACILITY
The sky is still dark when the platoon hit the drop zone. William pulled on his parachute rig, his fingers moved with practiced speed and maximum efficiency. His enhanced senses let him check every strap and buckle in half the time it takes his teammates.
"Five minutes to load!" Martinez shouts over the roar of the C-130 engines warming up nearby. "Lennox—you're jumping next to the lead. Show me you can keep up."
William doesn't respond and just gives a sharp nod before moving to the front of the line. As they board the plane, he felt eyes on him. A ranger named Corporal Reyes—built like a brick wall, with a tattoo of a skull wearing a beret on his forearm leaned in close.
"Lead jump's no joke, rookie. One mistake and you take the whole stick with you." He whispered in a bid to shake him but William just looked at him, then back out the plane's open door as they climb to altitude. Say little, move fast, learn faster.
When the green light flashed and the lead jump dived down, he followed with machine preciscion. He dived down into the pre-dawn sky with perfect form while his enhanced processor calculated wind speed, altitude, and drop zone coordinates in real time, adjusting his body position to hit the exact spot Martinez marked on the map.
He landed hard but controlled, running and rolling to absorb the impact then popping up to secure his chute. One by one, the rest of the platoon touched down.
Martinez jogs over, a rare flicker of approval in his eyes as he scanned the platoon. "Clean jump. But we're just getting started. Grab your gears! We've got a direct action scenario in the urban complex in thirty minutes, late is dead!"
URBAN TRAINING COMPLEX – 0800 HOURS
The platoon moved through the mock city like ghosts. Their feet barely making a sound on the concrete, weapons up and ready. William is point, using his thermal vision to scan every window, every alley, every possible hiding spot for "hostiles."
"Two targets, second floor, building three," he whispers into his comms, his voice barely audible but crystal clear to his team. "Reyes—left window. I'll take right."
They move in sync—William kicking open the door while Reyes provided cover fire. In three seconds flat, they've secured the room, "neutralized" the targets, and are already moving to the next objective.
"Move! Move! Move!" Martinez shouts from the rear. "Hostiles reinforcing from the east—we've got ninety seconds to hit the command post and extract!"
William's mind raced, mapping out the fastest route through the complex. He spots a maintenance tunnel that isn't on the official map—his terrain mapping abilities picking it up instantly.
"Through here!" he signals, leading the platoon into the narrow passage. They emerged directly behind the command post, catching the "enemy" completely off guard. The objective was secured in under two minutes which is a whole fifteen minutes ahead of schedule.
As they regroup outside, Martinez calls the platoon to attention.
"Today's lesson, is that good soldiers follow plans and great soldiers adapt with them. Lennox found a route we didn't know existed. That's the kind of thinking that keeps us alive, or kills us! You hear!? So don't get comfortable—tomorrow we run it again, and the day after that, until it's second nature."
Later, as the platoon was cleaning their weapons in the armory, Reyes clapped William on the shoulder.
"Alright rookie. I've got to hand it to you, you've got skills. Where'd you learn to read terrain like that?" The man asked with genuine curiosity.
William continued to wipe down his M4 carbine, his movements steady and precise. "Learned on the job. Just paying attention. You know."
Reyes grinned, shaking his head. "Say little, move fast, learn faster. You fit right in."
William glanced out the window at the training grounds, where other platoons are already gearing up for the next exercise. His enhanced senses picked up something new. It's a faint energy signature, unlike anything he's felt from human technology. It's weak, but it's growing stronger by the second.
'The cybertronians are close,' he thinks, his fingers pausing on his weapon for just a moment. 'The clock is ticking faster than I thought.'
After just arriving, William knew that in this platoon, you prove yourself with actions, not words. And William is ready to show them exactly what he's capable of.