Tifa & Yuffie 3

[Tifa Lockhart]

"Places to be, Brass to Schmooze. You know the drill in this god forsaken place, no rest for the wicked," she sighed, obviously trying to sound as if it all exhausted her, but it was quite obvious she enjoyed it well enough. "I want you up and about ASAP, Sergeant. I don't like sitting around doing nothing, and we ship nowhere until you're up and running."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Alex nodded, enthusiastically enough. "I'll be at your side in battle again before you know it, sir" he assured, folding his arms as best his laid down position would allow.

[Tifa Lockhart]

"See that you do," Cass concluded in a rather ceremonial manner before giving him one last wave and walking briskly from the infirmary.

((You could just skip if you like...))

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Alex had remained in the infirmary for a few more days before he had been released, to a degree, they still kept him grounded for a few more days whilst he learned to cope, at least well enough, with the lack of eyesight on one side.

Finally, though, he was given the all-clear for a new assignment. He couldn't be more pleased, the ship was beginning to bore him and the cafeteria was near inaccessible for him, with others asking him whether he was okay and how the mission went and telling him how brave he was for doing what he did. He shrugged off such compliments without much care for it. In his mind he had only done what he needed to, it was nothing big. At the time he was in his quarters, with Maxus, who had insisted on helping him to train his hearing to compensate for the useless eye.
The team were looking forward to getting a new mission, they really needed the change. Maran was spending almost 24 hours in the training rooms beating hell out of the boxing bags, Scarlet was beginning to get irate (which was never good for ANYONE), Axel was bored as hell and resorting to repeatedly offering his assistance for cleaning duty when no-one was assigned it for mishaps and Maxus was of course spending the majority of his time with Alex and attempting to run from his ever more irritable sister. As for Cass, no-one really knew, she was always here or there, often running errands, though seemingly not out of boredom.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Cass rarely got the chance to sit own and relax, not that she would really have wanted to if she'd gotten the option. She'd just got out of a meeting, where she'd been told that her squad was dropping into a battle-front hotspot to help some Elite's mop up covenant troops. She was rather pumped to finally be getting back into the field, but her enthusiasm was fueled by some even better news.

Things had been tense for the human troops for weeks now. The masterchief, SPARTAN 117 (a personal friend of Cass') had been MIA, but she'd just been given some VERY good news. She'd called for her squad to assemble in the high-gravity training center, where she was currently bench-pressing an insane amount of weight.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Alex heard the order and immediately went to gather up the rest of the squad, he and the team then proceeded to the training center as requested. Maxus' sound of surprise was rather amusing, as they waited for their commander to finish up her work and get out of the high-gravity area to speak to them. Scarlet was well over the other side of the room at the time, trying to keep her agitation from the lack of activity from harming her team members or anyone else in the room. She was calming though at the news that the squad leader might have a new mission for them.

[Tifa Lockhart]

When Cass had finally done 500 repetitions of her chosen weight she hung up the bar and sat up. After quickly dabbing the sweat away from her face she stood and headed for the airlock-like room that slowly returned the high-gravity to what it was outside the chamber.
When she was finally out, she greeted her squad with a brisk "form up!"

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

The team immediately lined up, saluting their commanding officer sharply, addressing their commander in unison with "Sir!" remaining at attention until their commander would give them command to stand at ease.
"Griffyn Squadron awaiting orders, sir" Alex said, on behalf of the team, as usual. Even after the time in the infirmary he was as prompt and formal as ever and certainly hadn't lost his touch.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Cass smirked slightly at the efficiency with which her team formed up at her instruction. She then walked up the line of marines, inspecting each one's stance with eerie purple-blue eyes like those of some decrepit pupiless hawk. She seemed impressed enough with each one, until she reached the end of the line where the most junior member of the squad stood. His attention was almost perfect, but unluckily for him, his commander was now a SPARTAN, and ALMOST was not good enough when it came to military protocol.
"Elbow up," she said briskly, slapping the offending limb with a firm hand, "fingers pointed at your temple and hand FLAT not angled."
Content that his stance was now correct she took her place in front of them, her arms folded behind her armoured back, "at ease."
"Now, I bring a lot of good news for you all today. Firstly, word came in from Sergeant Johnson's scout group last night. They've found Master Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN 117 safe and sound and he is currently engaged in battle activities down on Earth," she'd pause to let this information sink in first.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Maxus looked a little nervous when the SPARTAN seemed less pleased with his salute, but he let her fix his posture and memorised the changes quickly, so that he wouldn't make the same mistake in future. At the command of 'at ease' the men (and woman) stepped their legs apart slightly and held their hands behind their backs in the trained position. Maxus got that one right (it would be shameful not to get such an easy stance correct).

Everyone in the team looked relieved to hear Master Chief was safe. The whole UNSC had been horrified to think that maybe their top SPARTAN and biggest asset in the war was lost. The squad remained silent, however, to allow their leader to continue speaking.

[Tifa Lockhart]

"Secondly, we've been assigned a new mission, one i personally think is going to be good fun," the SPARTANs excitement seemed almost uncharacteristic, the smirk on her face almost unnerving. "We're to drop planetside, right into the thick of the fighting, and help the Elites there to clear out the last of the Loyalists hiding out in the ruins."
She swept her eyes twice across her line of soldiers, "I realise that this might be your first time working WITH the Elite, and i respect that it is a difficult transition to make, but I want NO aggressive or aggravating behaviour, even if they start it. Am I clear?"

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

"Sir! Yes, sir!" All the ODSTs agreed at once. Though some of the group might have seemed rather displeased to be working with their former enemies, Alex was half-way between thrilled and anxious. He was worried about misunderstandings and problems and unneeded hostility, but he was confident that they had found valuable and honourable allies in the Elites.
"The drop-time, sir?" Alex inquired, straight to the point as always.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Cass admired Alex's efficiency, and found it not so surprising that he'd climbed so high up the ladder at such a young age, he was very talented.
"0800 tomorrow, sergeant," she answered his question promptly, "which brings me to my next point. At 0700 tomorrow, when you assemble in the armoury to prepare for the drop, expect company. We've a new squad-mate being assigned to Griffyn squad for this mission. If they fit in, they might be permanently listed with us."
The SPARTAN shifted her stance ever-so-slightly, "any questions?"

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Alex looked slightly intrigued as the SPARTAN mentioned a new team member, as did Axel. They spared each other quick glances, and Alex knew easily what the other ODST was thinking.
"may we ask if you know who our company for this mission is to be, sir?" Axel asked, turning curious tawny-brown eyes to his commander.

[Tifa Lockhart]

"A Corporal 3rd Grade, so i'm told," Cass replied casually, inspecting the computer terminal mounted on her wrist to check her remembered information was correct, "A Corporal Dresner. Young, but he has a colourful service record."