#spec ops starters

[writermuses]

[warborn-tragedy]

.....getting caught up on drafts, but like for an Alkka starter?

[dutyfcrged]

@coinquinatvs / former father frank <3'd for a modern verse starter.

"I hope you don't mind," Ben said, a suspicious crinkle of paper emerging from his jacket as he stepped into Frank's hospital room, a glance cast down the hall before sliding the door closed and withdrawing the fast food bundle he'd tucked away out of sight of the prying eyes of the medical staff at the hospital. "I thought you might be more than a little bit tired of the dredge they call food here," he explained with a soft chortle as he drew nearer to offer the bag of burgers and fries out towards Frank.

[dxrknessembr8ced]

{ Starter @myfrillspaythebills }

With the recent monster sightings that are the misidentified B.O.W.s. unidentified and armed to the teeth military personal arrive in the area quarantining the entire area as the city at this point flooded with the undead or other mutated monstrosities that terrorize and slaughter innocence. The unidentifiable military personal revealed to be reformed shadaloo intimidation network. However the once terrorist organization have gone to a massive overhaul from the most powerful terrorist organisation to an organisation that centers around bioresearch and virology in order to combat bioterrorism now under a new leadership by Seth taking aesthetics inspired by everything about umbrella and their security service these Shadaloo spec ops troops taken upon themselves now to eliminate not only the new strain of T-virus that wreaks havoc across cities and villages but also to rescue civilians who are either immune or uninfected by the virus but also eliminating and killing both BSAA and the blue umbrella personal and their evidence of patient zero and the cult responsible for the spread of the outbreak.

The troops still quarantining the entire city all while fighting off the infected and killing the B.O.W.s. either mutated from the said strain or originated from a different virus from past bioterrorists incidents so many years ago. Though no sign of the BSAA or blue umbrella they'll come soon enough and will be ready to extract the data from them or worse yet they'll fight against the cult and send in whatever abomination they have to eliminate the new reform S.I.N.

" Hold these freaks off and get these civilians out of the city! No one goes in or out! "

They rounded up a few civilians unharmed by the infected but no signs of the immune and so far despite the dire situation they did get a good start.

[hopeformankind]

@devoteyrheart sent:

“Welcome to Hell. We’ve been waiting for you.” - from mike. mb during the fall of wall maria?

spec ops: the line starters.

What met Mike at first, after he'd given the recently-appointed Commander such horrific reports, Erwin had stared almost deadpan at the words that cursed his gaze. It was the worst possible scenario, something that happened so suddenly, so-- so out of nowhere, merely a few days after they'd gotten to Wall Rose just before they themselves would've experienced the fall... the sightings of a Colossal Titan, sixty meters tall, taller than the Walls, that took out the Southern gate of Wall Maria at Shiganshina district as another Titan with armored flesh like a knight's had broken through the Northern gate.

It was like some sick, cruel joke. A joke played on him after all of the casualties seen from Commander Sha-- Keith's expeditions, now they'd only double. A leader was needed now, more than ever, but could Erwin truly succeed in such a role? When they'd been met with what could only be described as the worst fucking casualty that could ever befall Humanity?

Perhaps not. But they couldn't go back now. Regretting these decisions would only dull future decisions... all that'd be left for them is to curl up and die. And Erwin would not have that.

" 'Wall Maria's been breached'... " Erwin read aloud as if to cement such a horrific realization in his own mind, yet despite the stress this would all put upon him, there was no doubt about it. The cogs could be seen just turning in his head through those icy eyes, which began to narrow in focus. Erwin suddenly slapped the report down onto his desk, standing up with urgency.

" Seems to be Hell truly has been waiting for me... Everyone else in the Walls, too, by the looks of it. But if we're able to limit civilian casualties, then the better, despite our circumstances. " Instantly, the Commander was in work mode, something often seen from his Section-Commander days of course, but this was something far more calculated than what might've been considered before. The blonde focused on the other before him, lips pursing for a moment. " Send a request for emergency rations, I'll accompany you-- we're preparing for a sudden expedition that will leave us setting out in a few days. I want to make sure we get the refugees of Wall Maria to reach Wall Rose safely. While I trust in our fellow Regiments... " A pause, perhaps realizing his place.

" ... I cannot guarantee their success rate when it comes to battling the Titans. We will get into the Long-Distance Scouting Formation as I'd proposed to Shadis before his resignation and make sure everything is color-coded. "

" If we want this done properly, everyone needs to come together. Not just the Garrison scrambling along the Walls while the Military Police and them are left to clean up the messes. Do you understand? " He knew Mike did. Erwin would trust Mike with his life-- one of the rarer things that Erwin could ever give. He's known Mike since the earlier cadet days. Hange, as well. And yet...

... Some part of him felt ready to falter, deep down. An operation of this magnitude when they'd already lost so many soldiers... Erwin had to turn away and compose himself. Deep breaths.

He'd need to prepare for a gamble, then. Their first expedition with himself as leader... he'd need to find funding, make sure they had enough rations to handle the journey to help escort the refugees across Wall Maria to Wall Rose. It'd take days. Weeks, perhaps... and that was if Premier Zachary had faith in them. After everything with Keith? He was sure it'd be damn near zero faith, but Erwin would still work despite that. Helping refugees and survivors was their top priority.

[murder-popsicle]

❛ forgive me, but… that’s the problem. you don’t know you. ❜

@abrooklynboy​ || spec ops starters || accepting

"What don’t I know, exactly?” Bucky asked, keeping her voice low so as not to wake the others. Steve was standing watch, and Bucky had joined him because she couldn’t sleep. Every time she’d closed her eyes the past few days, she’d found herself back on that damn doctor’s table. So now she was sitting as close to the fire as she could without setting herself ablaze -- it was cold on the Eastern Front -- and listening to Steve, who seemed to be trying to impart some sort of wisdom to her.

She wasn’t sure she was in the mood to hear it.

[cybersoldier82]

So that art for a friend is taking longer then i wanna admit(im procrastinating bc of my hyperfixations sorry)so here’s something to hold you over, a description of Boston.

Its lowkey criminal how little i talk about Boston, imma rectify that.

For starters he’s a 21 year old human, his personality is basically mr serious 80% of the time, unlike the Jacobs siblings he takes his job as a spec ops soldier very seriously, thats not to say he doesn’t have his comedic moments tho, most of em are just off the battlefield. Hes abt average height for a human male at around 5’9 and has a slender but muscular build to him, he has thick white kilmonger dreads, a white blotch over his right eye, and these piercing, almost angelic baby blue eyes, like youd swear those things could glow in the dark.

He’s part of the same spec ops/special forces unit as Mackenzie and Requis, his main role in the group is their designated marksman/sniper, only instead of a proper sniper he uses a special variant of whats essentially a bullpup barrett 50cal that shoots caseless 25mm grenades, he and his unit aint exactly meant for stealth operations lol. He’s actually one of Mackenzie’s former exs from middle school, but he’s bettered himself since then and they bonded during his time with her in the squad.

Eventually tho he was brought into the polycule sometime after Kyle and Mackenzie hooked up, he didn’t rlly like Kyle at first tho, not for any personal reasons he just had a general distrust/disliking to mercs, he eventually came around tho and hit it off rather surprisingly with Kyle after he got to know him. Turns out he and Kyle actually have a few things in common.

[owlixx]

CoD Purchase Notes:

I believe it has been since the last notes that I purchased Call of Duties 3, 4: MW, MW2 (OG), Black Ops 1, Ghosts, and Advanced Warfare. This completes my collection at the modest sum of 85 bucks. That’s half because Ghosts and AW only sell the “gold” version bundle with 1 DLC for 20 bucks each. Still, I’m glad to have access to exo zombies at all since it isn’t in the bad game of AW.

Since then, I refunded my copy of CoD 4 because I didn’t realize that my secondhand physical copy of Infinite Warfare included Modern Warfare Remastered! It said “download required” on the box, so I assumed it came with a download code that would surely be redeemed already, but no, it comes with a little 100 megabyte download starter on the disc itself which is amazing. I’m really glad I’ll get to experience that campaign in its best form and get to try the multiplayer with a few more active players.

I still have all my stats and unlocks from back in the day for BO1 and MW2! It’s crazy that I only have 30ish hours in the multiplayer of MW2 and didn’t hit max level when it seemed so big to me at the time. Same with BO1, with only 20 odd hours in the multiplayer (and a .67 KD, yikes) BUT I have 30 odd hours in just the combat training mode and god knows how long I spent in zombies.

Speaking of - I did do one round of Kino and got to round 17 solo after pack a punching the ray gun and m16 and getting all four perks, which I was very proud of accomplishing on my very first try here in the second-to-oldest zombies mode. I remember years ago reflecting on how much easier the classic maps were in BO3 compared to their original versions and now BO3 itself seems like ancient history compared to the modern CoDs and their open-world zombies too.

Also it’s crazy to me that Black Ops 1 has no incentive to use one gun over another! I mean, sure, there’s challenges for each gun to complete but they just award basic xp/points. The camos and attachments are just unlocked by purchase. I appreciate offering the player agency but I don’t have a strong desire to grind this game out that way. also kind of wild to see “equipment” as something you just respawn with instead of being timer based like field upgrades. Face camo is funny. Crazy to see this game have more reticle customization than any other CoD still. The red splash badges for double kills and such are also hilariously dated now but they seemed so cool and modern at the time. I was so excited for Black Ops 1 that I still call the Stakeout pump shotgun “Ithaca” from its trailer name by total accident. I also kind of miss how these older maps sometimes had more of an identity or gimmick than the dull modern maps. I did do 1 match of BO1 as a sneak preview and it was honestly a ton of fun and not nearly as clunky as I was expecting, though definitely a bit sluggish compared to what we expect now.

MW2 came first and I much prefer the idea of revisiting it and getting every gun or at least one gun fully equipped with attachments and camos. I do kind of miss the idea that the attachments are one-and-done “game changers” and that each attachment on a gun counts as basically an entire different weapon since it changes it so much. Pro Perks seem unbalanced though and as always, the effects are simply insane how some perks are devastating (stopping power) and some are nearly pointless. Very funny to see tactical insertion as a grenade, only 3 tactical, and the bizarre “blast mask” as a grenade. Also I had forgotten that shotguns were a secondary in MW2! I’ve already had a lot of fun in the menus alone and I haven’t even started an actual match in it yet. not to mention spec ops!

[vincememes]

spec ops: the line starters

change pronouns as needed. all quotes were taken out of context from the game.

❛   orders ain't worth following if it means leaving people to die.  ❜  

❛   you brought this on yourself.    ❜  

❛   what happened here was out of my control...  ❜

❛   i- i didn't mean to hurt anybody...  ❜  

❛   how many are alive today, i wonder?  how many will be alive tomorrow?  ❜ ��

❛   your friends, dead. the world on fire. and you... alone.  ❜  

❛   you're a failure. finally, something we have in common.  ❜  

❛   welcome to hell. we've been waiting for you. ❜  

❛   someone has to pay for your crimes. who is it going to be? ❜  

❛   it takes a strong man to deny what's in front of him.  ❜  

❛   and if the truth is undeniable, you create your own.   ❜  

❛   we’ve all lived bad lives. we all sin.  ❜  

❛   forgive me, but... that's the problem. you don't know you.  ❜  

❛   the truth is that you're here because you wanted to feel like something you're not: a hero.  ❜  

❛   i'm here because you can't accept what you've done. it broke you.  ❜  

❛   you needed someone to blame, so you cast it on me: a dead person.  ❜  

❛    no matter what happens next, don't be too hard on yourself.   ❜  

❛    even now, after all you've done, you can still go home.  lucky you  ❜  

❛    and on you marched. and for what?  ❜  

❛   that guy? you shot that guy? i liked that guy...  ❜  

❛    he had a... dog... maybe? i didn't really know that guy.  ❜  

❛   you know nothing of life, my friend.  ❜  

❛   if you did, you would know the truth is whatever we wish it to be.  ❜

❛  how many people have you killed today?  ❜  

❛   there is no difference between what is right and what is necessary.  ❜  

❛   if you were a better person, you wouldn't be here.  ❜  

❛   you are still a good person.    ❜  

❛   can you even remember why you came here?  ❜  

❛    do you feel like a hero yet?  ❜  

❛   to kill for yourself is murder. to kill for your government is heroic. to kill for entertainment is harmless.  ❜  

❛    cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two conflicting ideas simultaneously.  ❜  

❛   you cannot understand, nor do you want to.  ❜  

❛   but this isn't real, so why should you care?  ❜

❛   we cannot escape anguish. it is what we are.  ❜  

❛   there is no escape.  ❜  

❛   life begins at the other side of despair.  ❜  

❛   no one can help you now.  ❜  

❛   collateral damage can be justified, if the gain outweighs the cost.  ❜  

❛   freedom is what you do with what's been done to you.   ❜  

❛   i exist and i find it nauseating.  ❜  

❛   you can't go home.  ❜  

❛    it seems that reports of my... survival... have been greatly exaggerated.    ❜  

❛    you're no savior.  your talents lie elsewhere.   ❜  

❛   i know the truth is hard to hear, but it's time.  ❜

❛   you're all that's left, and we can't live this lie forever.    ❜  

❛    if you don't mind me asking, what was it like? how did you survive all this?  ❜  

❛   ... who said i did?  ❜

[faline-cat444]

Hint of cat leg

[counttwo-4]

@themaidofeffulgence​ | starter call.

possible thread theme? 👀

      Burning pain.

      It was like standing on the fucking sun for hours-- insane for anybody to do it. White phosphorus...

      What had met the nurse after hours of work and ages of the Welshman screaming had finally been silence-- no, not complete silence. He wasn’t dead. In fact, he was quite alive.

      His breaths were ragged and hoarse, eyes squeezed shut. Half of his face had been burned-- white phosphorus, no doubt, judging by the small bits of it she had to carefully remove and how any sort of antiseptic still kept him screaming. Fingers twitched against the sand-covered mattress, body writhed in unending suffering. His uniform had to be completely removed because of how some of that fucking chemical shit stuck to the fabric and nearly cooked him alive. He whimpered, he shifted and groaned and cried-- yet his tears only brought more pain to his injuries that tried to heal, even with the bandages.

      Yet-- then... Even his whimpers became hushed when he focused on his breathing. Not a word could be heard from him now. He meekly rested on the makeshift cot, a few candles keeping the room he was in alight, the windows scratched from sand... and soon, his voice croaked out with that accent of his. No doubt: some sort of man from the UK. Wales, maybe?

      “ ... m-madame? W-Water... please... ” He begged, “ ... m-my throat, feels like it’s... help... ”

      He had no idea as to where his fellow agent was. Only knew this: they were separated. And Agent One had been compromised and nearly killed... well, nearly. He was lucky this madame helped him.

[oncejaw]

(ooc) the way saturn reblogs one (1) post with Spec Ops: the Line related starters and I immediately go into .exe has stopped working mode. 

I cannot begin to express how much this game has destroyed me, and now that I think about it for more than three seconds, how relevant it is to the Warriors in particular, and AoT in general, so if you like shooter games with a very strong narrative that I can’t reveal too much about without ruining it, do yourself a favour and play or or watch a let’s play, it’s quite short (more or less five hours I think?) and well worth the experience if you can stomach war-related themes in video games.

[fcrfcraway]

LYRIC STARTER CALL - NES DATRA

Give this post a like for a short, lyric based starter from my Spec Ops OC, Nes Datra.

[screaming-skvll]

“It’s admirable the foundries are trying to redesign it for mass production, but I’m skeptical. You can’t always copy a classic.”

“Why not?”

“Well, this replica might have the same specs, on paper: comparable ballistics, same impact rating, same caliber output, all that, plus matching optics, stock and shock absorption, yada, yada, yada. But what if they leave out the stellar sextant?”

“...Pardon?”

“What if they haven’t included the subsystems and subsidiary functions of the original? And how could they, if they want to make it cost-effective? How are you gonna convince management the gun needs to have the stellar sextant when nobody ever uses it?”

“Uh, but why bother if nobody uses it?”

“Exactly! That’s just what they’ll say—but here’s the thing: what if it doesn’t matter that we don’t use the stellar sextant? What if it matters that it’s there? What if those subsystems contribute to the gun’s... I dunno... the gestalt of its functionality?”

“You think having a stellar sextant was somehow part of why the MIDA series performed like they did?”

“Yes! Yes, exactly!”

“Even if that’s possible... how would we know if it’s true?”

“Well, for starters, we’ll have to see how these new-made copies measure up to originals. If their performance does fall short, and the foundry folks can’t put a finger on it—maybe that means I’m on to something. Maybe it’s the stellar sextant.”

(MIDA Multi-Tool w/ Digital Ops)

[cryptid-bloodhound]

Legends Crime AU

After some great suggestions from: @daughterofthewinedude, @sunflower-key, @ajays-lullaby, and @unsightedjoker​ I decided to expand upon the Crime AU and fill in the blanks thanks to them! If there are more suggestions, let me know! I’m always open to them (:

 So, again thank you for the suggestions, they’re a huuuge help!

Basic Roles

under the cut bcus I rambled again, oops. If yall want to know more, just hmu! I might make individual character ‘profiles’ if there’s interest. Also, if anyone wants to use this for their own crime setting/au then feel free! (i’d totally love to be tagged in stuff bcus im a hoe for crime aus)

Bloodhound - Unknown Assassin -  They're independent and usually can’t be hired as they seem to be working down some sort of list. They aren’t in it for the money, clearly. However, if you plead your case and it’s a good one (in their eyes) the person you’re targeting might just disappear one day. Occasionally they’ll play the silent, scary backup if one of their associates/friends needs it. Nobody knows who they are, where they came from, how to contact them, or what the hell is up with them. It’s been noted that whenever they stop by a city, notoriously nasty criminals happen to go missing. All that’s known about them is that nobody escapes Bloodhound once they start their hunt.

Lifeline - Ex-Mob Princess/Mob Doc - Ajay Che would have been considered a Mob Princess if she had stayed within her Family Ranks. Her parents made very little effort to hide the truth of their profits from her. Disgusted, she left as soon as she could and swore to never join the life. Instead, she became a doctor in an effort to help people and make up for what her family has done. However, her childhood friend Octavio drug her back into the life unintentionally. He’d get hurt and show up at her doorstep again and again. Soon enough, other mobsters and criminals started arriving, earning her the unspoken title of Mob Doc. Now it’s not uncommon to find random Family members just lounging around her place. She decided to just say ‘to hell with it’ and try to act as some sort of Moral Compass for the crew.

Octane - Ex-Mob Prince/Demolitionist/Arsonist - His family and Ajay’s are closely intertwined. They grew up together thanks to the meetings between his parents and hers. However, unlike Ajay, he didn’t feel a moral repulsion at what their families were doing. If anything, he was bored. They weren’t extreme enough. It was almost all Blue Collar crimes, nothing explosive or violent. So, in typical Octavio fashion, he jumped ship and looked for something faster, flashier, more dangerous. It landed him in the ranks of his current Family as their Demolitions and Arson guy. He managed to drag Ajay back into their lifestyle after blowing off his own legs when he blew up the building of someone who pissed him off. He may not be the smartest or most level-headed member, but there’s no one more willing to jump into a fight or play with explosives than him.

Mirage - Jack of Trades - runs the ‘Cosa Nostra’-esque bar called the Paradise Lounge. It’s a neutral meeting grounds for the varying Families and it is an unwritten rule that nobody is allowed to fight in its premise. It’s the only ‘safe spot’ in the city. He has several different jobs for the Family. Aside from running the bar and helping to launder money, he is a document forger, a con artist, tech expert and is capable of talking people out of trouble one way or another. Basically, if someone needs to ‘disappear’ or get out of trouble, they come to ‘Mirage’. 

Bangalore - Ground Enforcer/Collector -  An ex-spec ops soldier who left the service after the mysterious ‘disappearance’ of her brother when he was on leave. She is certain it was a rival gang who did something to him. So, she’s started a crusade to find out what happened to him and avenge him one way or another. She joined the Family after crossing paths with them on more than one occasion. After witnessing her impressive skills, they offered her whatever resources she needed to finish her quest in exchange for her services leading and training their ‘troops’. She also isn’t shy on collecting the debts owed to the family.

Gibraltar - Allied Boss - Makoa Gibraltar isn’t your typical Crime Lord. For starters, he doesn’t actively harm innocent people. If anything, he is closer to a vigilante than an evil mobster. He started his biker gang after witnessing one too many hate crimes and seeing too many horrible people walk free from a corrupt system. He protects victims from their attackers during tenuous things like court trials and breaks up hate crimes he sees in progress. He’s become affectionately noted throughout the city by its citizens and even the police like to turn a blind eye when they can when he’s seen protecting someone (or beating the ever-loving shit out of some asshole). He has a shaky alliance with The Family. At the moment, they haven’t done anything notably horrible and have helped fund his growing group. They even slip him some info every now and again about places and people who might need a ‘meeting’ with Gibraltar.

Crypto - Double Agent Hacker - Tae Joon Park is technically ‘dead’. After being framed by The Family for the murder of his adopted sister Mila, he decided it was best to stick with the idea of being dead and created a new identity for himself. Filled with a searing need for revenge, he’s entered into the Family under the guise of being their expert Hacker and pro at Espionage. There’s no code he can’t crack and no information he can’t find. He’s capable of bringing empires down from behind his keyboard and screen. That’s exactly what he plans on doing to The Family. Only, he’s starting to notice a very strange pattern. Not everyone in the Family seems to be aware of the shady business going on. Some appear to be victims themselves that are being played. Now, he also has to decide who is guilty and who’s just like him - a pawn.

Caustic - Wild Card Killer - Considered an Associate as he refuses to formally join The Family as a Made Man. Alexander Nox is also technically ‘dead’. After a run-in with the law (and a subsequent escape from prison), he had the local forger Mirage falsify evidence of his death and craft him a new identity. He functions as an interrogator and a cleaner when he feels the fancy. He’s made it very clear that he is, under no circumstance, beholden to what the Boss wants. He helps because the Boss offers him a practically endless supply of test subjects in exchange for extracting information from the people and disposing of the bodies. He also mentors Wattson in the ways of proper disposal. What his end goals are, nobody really knows and nobody wants to ask. 

Wraith - Shadow Broker/Assassin - Renee Blasey is something of an enigma. Few people know her name beyond ‘Wraith’ and fewer still know what she looks like. She hides in the shadows, gathering information and eliminating targets with precision. There’s a rumor that she’s the one who brought the newcomer Crypto into the fold and that they’ve worked together in the past. Perhaps he was the one who freed her from a rival gang’s clutches. Due to her apparent connections all over the place and an almost unending supply of information, she was held captive and tortured for information. After her violent and bloody escape, she stumbled across the Family and they welcomed the notable information broker with open arms. How she gets the information she does, no one knows. She is always elusive about it. ‘A little birdy told me.’ ‘The voices knew’.  

Pathfinder - Transport Expert - A ‘defective’ MRVN unit because he was too free-thinking and asked too many questions, namely: ‘what happened to my creator?’ He was going to be decommissioned and shut down permanently when a group of strangers broke into the facility and ransacked the place. After they saved him from being decommissioned, he followed them around like a puppy and unintentionally joined the Family. He functions somewhere between ‘getaway/transport expert’ and ‘team mascot’. It’s thought that he might have witnessed some damning things and that’s why he was going to be decommissioned. In the process, his memories were corrupted so it’s almost impossible to truly tell. They’ve begun proper work on restoring his memories now that the technical geniuses Wattson and Crypto have joined up alongside Mirage.

Wattson - Security/Business Front/Cleaner- Daughter of an Associate. She didn’t know her dad worked with the mob until she was older. After the initial surprise, she joined in on the business, going so far as to becoming Made. She runs the security service front known as ‘Apex Protection’ that also doubles as their money laundering business. Nobody gets past her defenses to get to Family. (It helps that her dad was rather close with the notoriously effective cleaner Caustic. She’s picked up a few tips from him and now helps with the cleaning when needed)

[redroomfcrged]

@jigscw​ gets a starter bc.

It was a simple enough cover story, wit more than a few elements of truth in it that would enable her to sell it -- not that she’d met a story she couldn’t --  the story was the same for so many of the people that Billy Russo’s security corporation hired.  She just needed to make sure it was just enough outside of the norm to catch his attention, directly.  The fact that she was going in as a woman who had not only seen combat, but had been in one of the most elite spec ops of the USM was a good start, but it needed just enough of a sour taste to leave it just this side of questionable as to whether or not she might be willing to play dirty.   

Seven years of service, followed by a general discharge, leaving her bereft of benefits, and having just slid out of being brought up on charges for assaulting her commanding officer after being reported for questionable discharge of her weapon --  based on SHIELD’s psychological assessment of Russo, should be just the right amount of bait, but not so much as to be obvious that’s what it was.  What she was.    She’d passed the physical exams with flying colors, and had just completed one of the last of the tactic and weapons assessments.   Stripping off her gloves, she tossed them onto the table behind her, tucking away the random loose strands of scarlet hair that had pulled free from her braid as she let her weight settle, hips and thighs resting lightly against the table.   

Her gaze, just this side of disinterested, swept across the others that had served as allies and opponents for the exercise, the faintest of a low smirk concealed behind a water bottle as she watched them try and lick their wounds without being obvious about it -- men never did like getting their asses handed to them, even less so by a woman, even one with her credentials.    And then her gaze turned, pulling herself to stand, not quite at attention but close, as Russo approached.   “Sir --”  She switched the water bottle to her off hand, her right hand offered out for a firm handshake.  “Mr. Russo, I .. didn’t think you came to these things.”  That wasn’t quite true, but he didn’t need to know that.