Chapter 5: The Nuke Initialization

“GET YOUR ASSES MOVING!” A voice shouted.

There were soldiers and military personnel everywhere, rushing about.

“What about the third one?! We need new parts!” Another voice shouted.

“Get the damn Nuke out of here, prep it for launch at a moment's notice!” Yet another voice shouted.

Voices yelled and shouted, the entire complex busy with hard work.

“Sir, the nuke in bay three has a failed tamper. Bay fours collision chamber fell apart, as well.” A young man said.

“Fuck. Is there nothing working? Goddamnit, I wish Rex were here.” A man in his late 30s asked.

“No, Sir, Captain Stuart! Every other missile is good to launch! But may I ask a question?” The young man responded.

“...Granted.” Stuart said.

“Who is this Rex everybody talks about? Even you mentioned him.” The young man asked.

“You’re new?” Stuart asked.

“Yes, Sir! I’ve just been assigned here! My name is J! It is an honor to work with a great man such as yourself!” J said.

“J? Odd name. Regardless, be at ease. I’m not particularly fond of the tightass routine. In other words, stop fucking yelling. Anyway, you asked who Rex was, right?” Stuart asked.

“Yes, Si-I mean, yes. Yes I did.” J responded.

“That’s a long story. The easiest and shortest answer is that he’s my friend. We were also partners in crime. Whenever we went on missions, usually it was Rex who was saving my ass. He’s a man who has saved my life more times than I can count. He’s also probably the most respected member of our entire military. Well, at least by everyone my rank or above. You can bet your ass he’s gotten every last one of them out of a sticky situation. He’s a hero.” Stuart said, praising him.

“Then why isn’t he here?” J asked.

“Because….He saved our asses one too many times. He saw something that any man would probably...ugh. Anyway, he was captured before, and experienced something awful. That’s why he isn’t here.” Stuart said, shuddering.

“He’s dead? And why did I never hear about him before coming here, if he’s that important?” J asked.

“...He’s alive. He was put on leave for emotional instability. Whatever he saw, he still has nightmares about it, even if he can't remember it anymore. He isn’t dead, he just isn’t here anymore. As for why you’ve never heard of him, it’s because he’s a secret weapon for the army. Well, he did a lot of undercover work. A lot of his missions were top secret. Even I don’t have access to a lot of the records. Anyway, just treat him as a hero with even greater rank than me, if the subject ever comes up. Now, that’s enough talk. Get back to work.” Stuart said.

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“Yes, sir. I’ll take my leave, I need to go and check on some of the refuelling stations in the north. I’ll have the reports on your desk by noon tomorrow.” J said.

“Oh? That’s quite fast. I think you’ll fit in well around here, if that’s how good your work usually is. I’ve seen some of it, so I know you aren’t a slouch, either.” Stuart said, impressed.

“Yes, sir. But I don’t think I care about fitting in that much. That’s not why I’m here.” J said.

“I see. Then you’re dismissed. Good luck, J.” Stuart said.

“You...aren’t going to harass me for that?” J asked.

“Everyone here has a story. You aren’t the first, and you won’t be the last. No matter how tragic it is, if you’re still sane, it isn’t much. Then again, you have to be pretty insane if you want to transfer here. Are you going to go do your work or not?” Stuart said.

J left, saluting.

----------------------------------------

“A new guy?” A girl asked.

“Huh? Oh, Melissa. Yeah. He just transferred here under my command.” Stuart said.

“I liked the look in his eyes. Transfer the boy to me, instead.” Melissa said.

“And let someone else go through your training? Hell no. I don’t care what the results of it are, that training is just torture.” Stuart said.

“I’ve raised the strongest soldiers in our army with this training. All you need is the grit to get through the pain. At least tell him about my offer.” Melissa said.

“....You just said transfer him to me, you didn’t give me an offer.” Stuart sighed.

“Oh, right. Uhhh. I’ll double his pay?” Melissa asked.

“That’s a waste. We don't have the funds to do that whenever we want.” Stuart said, shaking his head.

“Hmm…..Ah! I know! Tell him I’ll help him get his revenge. I’m the only one who can after all.” Melissa said, smiling villainously.,

“And how do you know he wants any kind of revenge?” Stuart asked.

“His eyes. The look in his eyes when he said he didn’t care about fitting in told me everything.” Melissa said.

Stuart hesitated. He knew she was usually right when it came to reading people like that.

“Stuart, you know I’m right. I’m the only one who can help someone with something like that. And you know the feeling of wanting revenge, don’t you? You know what a person is looking to do if it's all for revenge, don't you.” Melissa said.

“...Fine, I’ll let him know about your offer.” Stuart relented.

“No need, I’ll go talk to him myself. Oh, right. How is the thing with the nukes going?” Melissa asked.

“Horribly. They're going to be fired at us pretty soon. They don’t seem to care about blowing themselves up too. The whole world’s probably about to go to shit. Everyone’s fucked.” Stuart laughed.

“Figured as much. Seriously, we wouldn’t have had this problem if they let Rex stay. Stupid fucking bigwig idiots.” Melissa said.

“I’m pretty sure they wanted to do it out of Rex’s own best interests. Nobody should have to go through that.” Stuart said.

“It couldn’t be that crippling if he doesn’t even remember it.” Melissa said.

“You haven’t seen the tape. He's been diagnosed with PTSD. And I’m not surprised.” Stuart said, his face hardened, his mouth set in a hard line.

“Tape?” Melissa asked.

“Just stop. You have things to do, and I have to get some work of my own done. Let’s get going.” Stuart said.

Melissa sighed, but she listened to him.