Grey Lines

Chapter 3 - Planet Side

The next few hours were filled with standard procedure, battle preparations. The kind of logistics the men and women of the 65th had done thousands of times before and would likely do a thousand more. Private J. Zeeko marched through the tight corridors of the UNSC Vengeance. He only stopped occasionally to let an officer or a hurried crewman pass. And he did need to stop to do so. Zeeko was a wide set man standing just over 6ft tall. In the tight halls of the ship he had to turn slightly in order to let someone pass without being inconvenienced. The Battle Plate he wore had been enhanced to allow extra room for his muscular stature. Of course all that muscle went a long way since he was Nomad 1-1's Autorifleman. Slugging through the different terrains and battlefields all while carrying an M73 LMG had its downsides. Lucky for him he had been doing it for a long time and was more than capable at his job. Plus he just plain loved heavy fire power.

He continued his course through the winding corridors until he came across Nomad 1-1's Squad bay. The doors parted giving way to the familiar comforting smell of his squad's barracks. It was his home away from home. The rest of his team was gathered around the small briefing table at the back of the room. And to his surprise Sergeant Artemis was standing in front of them. As Zeeko approached the table Artemis gave him a slight nod.

"Alright now that we are all here lets get started, first things first, I'm positive you are all wondering why I'm here and why my armor has undergone a bit of a makeover."

Artemis wasn't kidding his armor was completely different from before. Gone was his camouflaged pattern that Pathfinder was famous for and instead was the standard black ODST plate armor along with the blue markings that designated him as a member of Nomad.

"To put it plainly, the Captain has decided that since 5-1's mission was so successful, he has appointed me as acting Team Lead for Nomad 1-1."

No one in Nomad reacted to the news. At least not obviously, but Zeeko could see Dio's fists tense and a vein begin to form in his neck. Artemis must have noticed it as well.

"I know that some of you may not necessarily trust me as I will be new to leading your team. And I'm sure there are those among you that were hopping for the honor, but I'm sure, with time, I will earn your respect."

That was the thing about brotherhoods. With comradery came rivalry. Nomad and Pathfinder just so happened to have the largest rivalry on the Corvette. The two squads were in constant competition with one another. Zeeko just hoped Dio didn't let that rivalry get in the way of their mission, or make him do something stupid. He understood what the Captain was doing. He wanted to shake things up. To break down those walls that his fellow brothers in arms were putting up. But was this really the time fore this? During such a critical mission? A few moments passed before Zeeko realized that the room had been dead silent for an awkwardly long amount of time. He was about to chime in and break the silence when Bot stepped forward.

"Hey boss don't worry about all that nonsense. As long as we get to kill some of the bastards infecting the planet down there we'll follow whoever it takes. Aint that right boys?"

Bot had removed his helmet and his signature disarming grin was beaming from ear to ear. He had a knack for diffusing a situation. Maybe that skill came with being around heavy ordinance all the time. The rest of the squad nodded. All except for Dio, who instead let out a complacent grunt and folded his arms across his chest. Artemis decided that was good enough from him and continued.

"Of course I'm not oblivious to the existing chain of command in this squad so I'd like Dio to take over second in command. Should something happen to me or should we need to form separate fire teams Dio will take command. Is that acceptable?"