She stepped out of the pod to find herself in a large pod bay in Camp Bredbeddle. She was the only person in the pod bay but looking at some of the other pods she noticed that they had been used recently.

“The respawn must have stopped and sent everyone here to respawn once the mission was over.” She thought to herself as she equipped her armor. She smiled happily.

Freya followed the happy sounds of a crowd at the pavilion. She found a seat and sat down. A few seconds later Toast sat down beside her. He gave her a smile and turned to look towards the Gunnery Sergeant who walked up with a big smile on his face.

“Seven Waves.” He said shaking his head. He walked over to Sergeant Gawain’s side and put his hand on the Sergeant’s shoulder.

“Seven waves.” The gunny said shaking his head. “The closest anyone has gotten so far is wave five and that was at an easier base. You guys took the second hardest base and still beat the snot out of everyone else. I laughed when I head Toast request the base but I shouldn’t have. He knew something I didn’t. He knew that you people were the best. He knew that you people could handle it and here you guys are. Wave seven. Let me tell you guys I’m glad I’m not in your Sergeants shoes. There would be no way I could cut any of you. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if each and everyone who gets cut over the next couple of weeks gets picked up by another platoon in our division. I just hope that platoon that picks you up is in my company. Each and every one of you people are the best of the best and you proved that here today. You have some really hard work ahead of you so I’ll leave you people in the capable hands of Sergeant Gawain. Good job people Darn good job people.”

Freya smile then looked at her notifications to see what she got.

You have successfully completed the first wave.

You are awarded 200 E-points, two Skill point, and two mod point.

Completed mission 100 Credits.

You have successfully completed the second wave.

You are awarded 200 E-points, two Skill point, and two mod point.

Completed mission 100 Credits.

You have successfully completed the third wave.

You are awarded 400 E-points, two Skill point, and two mod point.

Completed mission 100 Credits.

You have successfully completed the fourth wave.

You are awarded 400 E-points, two Skill point, and two mod point.

Completed mission 100 Credits.

You have successfully completed the fifth wave.

You are awarded 600 E-points, two Skill point, and two mod point.

Completed mission 100 Credits.

You have successfully completed the sixth wave.

You are awarded 1200 E-points, two Skill point, and two mod point.

Completed mission 100 Credits.

You have successfully completed the seventh wave.

You are awarded 2450 E-points, two Skill point, and two mod point.

Completed mission 100 Credits.

Bonus: For killing more than five hundred enemies and having greater than 80% accuracy you are awarded twenty E-points, one skill point, and one mod point. 100 credits

Bonus: For killing more than five hundred enemies and having greater than 85% accuracy you are awarded twenty E-points, one skill point, and one mod point. 100 credits

Bonus: For killing more than five hundred enemies and having greater than 90% accuracy you are awarded fifty E-points, two skill points, and two mod points. 200 credits

Bonus: For killing more than five hundred enemies and having greater than 95% accuracy you are awarded fifty E-points, two skill points, and two mod points. 200 credits

For safely deploying and return of a Respawn Dropship without damage you are awarded 150 E points. You are rewarded 5 skill points and 5 mod points. 50 Credits.

Piloting skill advanced +1 for Superior landing.

Advanced Drone Operator skill advanced +1 for superior deployment of Respawn Dropship.

Freya’s smile froze as she read the notifications. She had 25 mod and skill points just from one mission. She also was awarded five-thousand seven-hundred and fifty E-points and seven-hundred and fifty credits. “Tier two missions are amazing.” She thought to herself smiling. She even leveled up her piloting and advanced drone operator skills. She had enough to get everything she needed for 1st Company scout qualifications and Sergeant Gawain requirement for her.

“You think those rewards are awesome wait until we get to tier three missions. The rewards are amazing.” Toast whispered to Freya all the while looking at the Gunnery Sergeant like a good little marine. Freya nearly laughed but somehow she kept it in.

“We are having a cookout tonight on the beach and everyone is invited. Beer will be supplied by me and the command staff. Everyone here can use the training facilities at Camp Bredbuddle but unfortunately, we don’t have the standing yet for discounts with the merchants in the concourse. If you need to buy stuff, you’re on your own. Tomorrow morning we will meet up again here and I’ll talk to each and everyone here. Some of you will be going home afterward so please be prepared. If that's all, I’ll see everyone tonight.” The Sergeant said smiling.

“I’ll see you later. I have to have a chat with our future Platoon leader.” Toast said with a smile. He patted Freya on the back and left heading to catch up with the Sergeant who was walking back to his office.

Freya looked around as people got up and headed towards what she assumed was a training facility. She followed the crowd and got in line. The training Facility looked like someone brick shed. There were two consoles screens on either side of the double door. She deliberately waited so she could get into the back of the line so she could look over skills she wanted without making people wait.

Once most of the others had gone Freya took her place at the screen. She had just enough mod points to get to thirty in strength for Sergeant Gawain. Plus she had enough to get twenty health and health regen to get her stats up to what was required for 1st Company scout. It would leave her one mod left over but she was worried that the sergeant would make her buy something else so she saved it. Looking at her stats she smiled.

“Time for skills.” She thought to herself. She brought up the skill list then changed it most popular. She was planning to put more skill points into silent combat running but she spotted a skill that she liked even more. It was called targeting and it cost eight skill points. While it was an expensive skill she was pretty sure it was what allowed Toast to call out all those grid coordinates in the last mission. The next level of skill after that was advanced targeting. It cost a staggering eleven more skill points. Lastly, she thought about using the rest in Silent walking getting the next skill level. She wanted silent combat running but she didn’t have enough skill points for it. She needed another level in acrobatics before she could even get it.

“I can get Silent Combat Running if I forget about advanced targeting.” She thought to herself as she debated with herself for a few minutes about the targeting skill. She was about to pass it up for the next level in Silent Combat Running but then asked for more information on the Advanced Targeting skill. The description didn’t tell her a whole lot. All it said was that it was an advanced form of targeting. What it did tell her was that it was a requirement for Special Ops skill and Zero-G combat qualification skill. That clinched it for her and she dropped all her skill points into it.

She finally looked up the qualifications for Zero-G combat skill. It required level four acrobatics, Zero-G maneuvering, Advanced Space board tactics, and Advanced Targeting. Looking at all the skills that it required she wondered why it said that a 2nd platoon scout could fill the position when she first checked it. Shrugging the questions off she accepted the changes she had made and entered the training facility.

The targeting skill was a lot more evolved than she guessed. She not only did she have to learn how to read memories grid coordinates she also had to be able to accurately remember and target specific targets inside a target area. She also had to prioritize what targets to take out first. Was the five armored personnel carrier more important than the five tanks? Well, the answer to that question depended on the situation and mission. What kind of tanks were they and what did the platoon have to respond to the threat. Where would the enemy armored personnel carrier go if it was attacked? Would it retreat or would it be a threat?

The Advance Targeting skill mostly focused on where to hit things with what kind of armament to destroy them. Some of the stuff she already knew where to hit a vehicle to disable it but some of the stuff was completely new. She learned about construction so she would take knew how to take down a wall of a bunch of different types of buildings. She didn’t learn how to plant explosives but she did lean what kind to use and where to put them. The most exciting thing she learned was how to disable a spaceship from the outside as well as attacking from the inside. In Targeting she learned how to judge what was needed to be destroyed and in what order. In Advanced Targeting she learned how and with what to take out her targets. She also learned why it was so expensive for the skills. She learned the common weakness to many things from vehicles to structures like buildings and space stations.

It was still daylight in Camp Bredbeddle when Freya stepped outside. The other people who were exiting the training facilities were either heading to the beach or the exit door. Freya looked at the beach longingly but headed to the door. She still had her armor she needed to buy.

On a whim, she decided to check out the stores on the sixth floor. She had never been above the fourth floor yet. Most of the pole part of the concourse was filled with really nice looking restaurants. Near the end of the pole part of the concourse by the opening of the octagon, she passes a bar named Chiva’s. She had heard of the bar before but she had no idea where she heard the name. Shrugging she moved on. There were only a few stores on the Sixth floor but they were all bigger. Freya spotted an armor store and went inside. The moment she set inside she was met by a very polite android.

“Good morning Private O’Malley or do you prefer your nickname Magic?” The android said in a really nice accent.

“Freya is fine.” She told the android.

“Freya, welcome to Fresco’s armor emporium. We sell all levels of armor from light to Mechanize. What can I help you with today?” The android asked.

“I am just browsing,” Freya said looking around.

“Would you like to the latest in light scout armor? There is one that I think you will love.” The android said and not waiting on Freya’s answer showed her a life-size holographic model of a really sleek looking armor.

“This is the Wrath. It’s a tier four armor designed for maximum stealth and speed. It has both active and passive camouflage already unmodded as stock with over two-thousand physical camouflages downloaded. While the armor is lower than a normal tier four armor of the same type it has instead assisted movement. It will increase your movement speed by ten miles per hour. It also has Massimio Friction assistance to allow for a better climbing experience. It has a Veddarius battery that will last two years on an unmodded suit and six months on a fully modded suit. It also has a passive battery charger that used kinetic technology to keep your suit recharge for far longer than the factory specifications have listed. What is even better, this suit can be modded to remove the command package so that someone of your rank may use it.” The Android said slowly spinning the suit.

It was an amazing looking suit. Reading the spec Freya signed. It was everything a scout needed. One thing Freya noted was that the android had not told her how much the thing would cost.

Almost like reading her mind the android gave Freya a realistic smile then said, “Normally this armor would go for two-thousand credits unmodded but my employer has authorized me to make you a deal. You have caused quite a stir in the six weeks you have been on this ship. You are the only non-academy graduate that is currently a private. In fact, you are one of eleven recent promotions and the only one to have a Golden E and a spaceship. You are the most talked about private on this ship currently. My employer would like to use your image for advertisement purposes. He is willing to give you this armor as payment plus he is willing to cut sell you all the mods you can afford at half price.” The android tilted its head and gave her another big smile.

Freya smiled and got into bargaining with the android. She dropped the time they would be able to use her image from a year to three months. She had to approve all images of her before they used them but in return, she had to approve at least ten images before she left the store. In return for approving ten images, the android would give her a new cloud forge for free since her old armor was from a different company. She had to buy all new mods for her new armor. She also got them to let her pick six different clouds that it would be able to make. In return, she had to tell anyone who asked where she got her armor from. She also could not say anything negative about the armor or any of the stores the android employer owned.

Once she signed the deal the android showed her a bunch of images it wanted to use. Two of the images were real live commercials. One of the commercials was of her standing by an unarmored jeep with a really awesome looking pistol. In the commercial, there was a voice over who talked about who she was and about how awesome the jeep was. Her image didn’t say anything but just looked at the camera as it panned around the jeep. While it made her embarrassed to see herself on the screen, she approved it anyway. The other commercial was about her old gun. She heard herself talk about how she got her Golden E with it on her first tier 1 mission.

Apparently, the owner of the shop also owned a weapons shop on the ship. Freya said no to the commercial on a basis that she only agreed to images. She did not agree to use her professional accomplishments in their advertisements. The android froze as it talked to its employer then it came back with a counteroffer. It would give her a modded out Hayes 2020. It was the same pistol that was in the first commercial.

The Android agreed to mod the gun for both more and better ammo plus it would be modded so that it was automatic instead of just semi-auto. The gun went from thirty rounds to two-hundred rounds from the mod that changed the type of ammo. The ammo rod it was willing to give her a mod for had a tremendous stopping power but only so so penetrating power. It would knock a heavy armored enemy down but it would not penetrate the armor. She agreed and signed the modified contract.

She used one of her free licenses to buy back her sensor alert cloud. Then she learned that she could use the cloud forge to create the drones she needed instead of buying them each time she needed to replace them. Freya eagerly used the rest of free her licenses to buy the five drones that Sergeant Gawain wanted her to have. Once all the free stuff was gone then she used her credits to buy all the mods she could for the cloud forge.

“You can pay fifty credits later on to remove the mod on your suit and change it back into a tier 4 armor suit.” The android said once Freya was done. She thanked the Android and after removing the sleeves on her armor she left the shop in her new armor’s working uniform.

On the fifth floor, she found a specialty store that sold combat supplies. She spent nearly a hundred credits in the store buying all sorts of things for her now bigger backpack. After that, she found a store on the sixth floor that sold masters level, college classes. She bought three classes on faster than light communications. She would have to complete the other two classes first before she started in on the three masters level classes though. When she was done shopping for everything she still had just under two hundred credits left.

She still had time to kill and she wanted to check out the beach. She headed back to Camp Bredbeddle. She was allowed access to the camp plus she was already given permission to go to the beach. She was restricted to go no farther than one hundred feet of the shoreline plus one-hundred feet of sand area. She didn’t have a bathing suit but she did take her boots off so that she could put her toes into the water. She found a place to sit a little away from everyone else and sat down. Bringing up her holographic reader she opened one of her modules and started to do some work on her classes.

Status Screen

Name: Freya O’Malley

Rank: Private. Level: 1

Template: 1st Company Scout

Enlisted points: 18350

Credits: 188

Skill points: 1

Mod points: 1

Weapons: Desus MOA Magnetic heavy rifle with Mega Colax purified battery six heat sinks with NG rod ammo

Armor: Wrath Tier 4 modded to tier 3 model armor. Massimio Friction assistance. Veddarius battery. Cloudforge with sensor alert and five drones

GMZ 127 energy rifle with Colax purified battery. Hayes 2020 pistol with dual Mrock pistol ammo rods. Basic combat knife.

Ship: Goozden 127 light armored Respawn DropShip active camouflage six respawn pods

Wetware mods

Health

Level: 25

Health Regen

Level: 25

Strength

Level: 30

Perception

Level: 150

Agility

Level: 75

Dexterity:

Level: 100

Memory

Level: 125

Processing speed

Level: 158

Personal AI

Level: 1

Skills:

Enhanced sensing

Level: 2

Tracking

Level: 1

Acrobatics

Level: 2

One time infantry Dropship

Level: 1

Advanced combat Infantry

N/A

Math and Military studies

BS

Advanced Drone Operator

Level: 3

Piloting

Level: 3

Silent Walking

Level: 1

Silent Combat running

Level: 1

Advanced Targeting

N/A

Hardware mods: Suicide mod

Medals: Gold E Sharpshooter