Wasteland 2187, Chapter 2

         ~The ASMC was the Shelters main source of defence; they were also the lifeblood of every shelters survival. The most important crews were the Recon Exploration and Supply crews, nicknamed Resy’s to the corps or Scavies to the general population (But if a Resy caught a common calling them a Scavie then it was all out war). Their job was to scour the wasteland and bring back much needed supplies for the shelter. A Res team consisted of a Captain, Gunny Sergeant, four Hunters, two teams of Sweepers, a Sweep Lead, a Driver, and a Tech / Medic. They all had to get along too, because they could spend upwards of four months away from the shelter at any given time. That might have been a problem for Myra, because when she didn’t like someone she would more often than let them know it.

         ~Myra waited in the Hanger bay of S567 for her Sweep team leader. She looked around at the massive large dome hanger with APC’s, Tanks, Hummers and other military vehicles parked all over the place. The bay was full of marines going about their daily business; of course the hanger could only be accessed by marines using a small ID swipe card that Myra was shinning against her uniform shirt looking at the horrid ID picture.

         Crumpets! I look like I’m about to sneeze, why didn’t the stupid recruiting officer take a better picture, I looked back up at the sign ‘Hanger Bay, section Blue assembly point’ yep this was where I was supposed to meet everyone. I’m not usually early but it seems there is a first for everything considering I’m the only damn person here! But hey this is a good start; I can get in good with the brass if I seem really eager. Might make my day a little easier, I hate being the last person to arrive to every time.

         The hanger bay P.A system came to life and helped me relive one of my worst nightmares “Myra Cadillac Longwood, please report to the hanger bay, section red assembly point. Myra Cadillac Longwood please report to red bay assembly”

         Crumpets again! This is all I need, I swear the stupid letter said blue bay. Shit now I got to rock up when everyone is probably already there and heard my stupid middle name, and I gotta be the new stupid girl who got lost, on the stupid first day. Well at least my head ache is gone, hey I’m silver lining girl all of a sudden.

         I bolted across the hanger, it was easy to spot the red section (It was the section with the red pillars duh) there was an APC and a Hummer with a rear mounted cannon, all packed up and waiting for little ole me. There was a round face plumpish girl smiling from ear to ear and a stern faced angry Korean looking lady waiting for me, very odd couple meets platoon. I stopped breathless two meters from them. The plumpish girl smiled leaned forward and opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by the angry Korean, which made her stand up straight with a shocked face like someone had just pinched her on the bottom.

         “Are you private Myra Cadillac Longwood?” The Korean demanded.

         “Well it was private until it just got told to the whole bay” I joked and made myself laugh, The Korean was unimpressed and my laughter got caught in my own throat as I straightened up “Ah yes ma’am” I couldn’t quite figure out what I did wrong at that moment but the Korean lady went quite red. If she was a cartoon character this is where the steam out the ears and the whistling of a kettle would kick in.

         “Young lady, I am not a woman! You best to correct your facts before you make outlandish assumptions!” The Korean MAN yelled at me, yeah I guess I make a pretty memorable first impression normally, but this had to top the lot. I squinted with every emphasised word that rained uncontrolled spit from the Koreans mouth onto my face “Get her in the APC and move out!” He yelled again.

         ~The Korean man obviously angered stormed off towards the front of the APC, The plump woman looked apologetic for her colleagues mood, but just continued to smile towards Myra. Possibly trying to make Myra feel comfortable but it was having the adverse effect; the creepy smiling was starting to freak her out.

         “Now don’t you worry about Fún, he’s just a cranky pants because we have a few new recruits today. But I like to think of it as a new birth into our growing family, all we have to do is wipe of the blood and placenta and you’ll be one of us in no time” And yes she actually said that with the same stupid smile on her face. I suddenly felt sick, this could not be the marines. I hoped this woman was just a team member and not the team leader.

         “I’m your team leader Maes, but you can think of me as mum if you like. Any questions don’t you hesitate to ask, now let’s get you strapped in and meet the rest of the team shall we?” I really wasn’t sure I wanted to meet the rest of the team. Maes lead me to the rear of the APC which had the back hatch lowered down and everyone already strapped in. I really hoped there was a white elephant behind me because I had all the attention all of a sudden, and it really seems like I’m the attention grabbing type right? exactly!

         I dipped my head and marched quickly to the first empty seat, it was a sixteen seat armoured personnel carrier and only seven of the seats were occupied, the rest of the team must have been in the Humvee the three seats behind the passenger front seat were removed and a small little booth was installed with a multicoloured almost tie-dyed curtain covering them. Maes helps me strap in then does a quick spot check on the rest of the crew. She comes back and straps herself in right opposite me.

         ~The engines of the two vehicles roared to life and drove to the quarantine platform, a large blast proof hanger door closed behind them. Myra was getting a little excited, she had never seen the wasteland before and it was going to be her first time experiencing sunlight. Clearance sirens rang out mixed with various flashing safety lights, decompression was complete and the hydraulic lift on the exterior hanger door pumped into action. Slowly but surely the exterior hanger door started to open.