Hidden Saber (OC x Rainbow Six Siege)

Chapter 26 - The simulation

(POV) Saber

My first mission was months behind me now, but I will never forget it. It was the first time I felt as if I belonged somewhere. Thatcher was unofficially give the title of "Saber's Father Figure" by the other operators. It sounded weird the first couple times it was mentioned, for both of us, but it made sense. Thatcher had devoted his time and effort into training me, which took up most of our days.

It was common for us to practice hand to hand combat. He had ditched the idea of working on my sword skills, saying I don't need to improve in that field anymore. He noted that my hand to hand combat wasn't terrible but needed improvement, so that's what we set ourselves to do. Sometimes other operatives would join in, showing me stances and moves I had never seen before. Thatcher noted I had made significant improvement since starting our day to day ritual.

Six had moved us to a different location a couple weeks ago. It was called Hereford base, way bigger then the last base. Turns out this place was the main base for the organization. There were more operatives based here and even more soldiers. I was given a brief history and explanation of the organization. The different CTU's, the purpose of Rainbow and the importance it has to the world. It made me realize how different I was from the other operatives here, how special I must be.

I got my own room and operator ID to move about the base as I please. The layout of this base was harder to memorize, but I am steadily wrapping my head around the locations of specific places. Usually, I was accompanied by Thatcher, who would guide me to the lunch room or training area. He made sure I wouldn't get lost... and I believe he was making sure I wouldn't be picking fights with other operatives.

"You better not be daydreaming again, sword dude" muttered Mozzie.

"No, I'm paying attention" I said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

In truth, I was overthinking our current situation. You see, at Hereford, they have simulation buildings used for training. Six appoints a team a simulation every other week to test out team chemistry and areas of improvement. Today just so happens to be my simulation day... along with Mozzie's and Thatcher's.

"You better be, mate. Don't want to end up like the last guy"

"What happened to the last guy?" I ask, turning my attention back to the open doorway on the other side of the room. Both of us were crouched behind a large object, Mozzie playing with a drone and me tasked with looking out for him.

"You don't want to know, mate. Trust me" he replied, laughing quietly.

I was put on the defending team along with Mozzie, Ela, Vigil and Smoke. Our team wasn't really working together. Most ran off to do their own thing 10 seconds after the round started. Only Smoke remained in the objective room, though he did mention he was highly displeased with the idea. Mozzie and I stationed ourselves in a adjacent room with a low amount of breachable points so we wouldn't be discovered easily.

"Got one, just below us coming up the stairs. Get ready" Mozzie explained.

"On it" said Ela, rather quickly. "Mine flying out"

"I was going to send Saber after 'em, but that works" Mozzie said, a bit discouraged.

The Australian and I had become good friends since I was moved to Hereford. He acted as a tour guide on my first week, explaining the different sections and whatnot. He made it a routine to check up on me during training and asked if I could teach him a couple sword tricks. Thatcher had told him off a couple times, saying he was disturbing our progress, but Mozzie was pretty adamant on learning from me. Outside of his obnoxious behaviour, he was nice to hang around with. He would tell stories of his missions or would try to get me to talk more about myself. It was because of him that I got introduced to video games and the meaning of rage quitting. Nonetheless, if he saw an opportunity for me to use my sword, he would encourage me too, saying it was really cool.

"Ela eliminated, 4 defenders remaining"

4 vs 5, we are at a disadvantage. It isn't a great situation to be in, but things can always turn around unexpectedly.

"What should we do?" I ask.

"If we hold important angles on hallways they'll pass through, then we can get them without much effort. Just watch your backs and you should be fine" Smoke replied.

"I think we need to be more aggressive and make a push towards their entry point" Vigil suggested.

"Yeah cause that worked out well for Ela..." muttered Mozzie.

"This is Thatcher's team we are up against, mind you. That strategy doesn't work, just a quick death. You'd be better coming back to the objective room"

The strategic parts of these exercises always confused me. To me, skill would prevail in any situation, that's why training was so important. But I am starting to learn that skill isn't everything, strategy is just as important... and teamwork.

"I know what I am doing Smoke" replied Vigil.

"I ain't saying you don't, mate. I'm saying we need to be more defensive and less aggressive against this team" asserted Smoke. Mozzie and I exchanged a look. Are they really arguing right now?

"I know what I am doing"

"Vigil, mate, you really..." started Smoke.

"Let 'em make mistakes. If we lose, we can blame it on him" Mozzie suggested.

"That's fair" I add.

Our communication devices went silent, I was hoping that indicated a silent agreement from our other two teammates. Worse case scenario, they start arguing again and we lose. I wasn't all in for losing but I would take a lose over hearing two adults arguing. Mozzie went back to scouting the place with his acquired drones.

"Vigil eliminated, 3 defenders remaining"

"GAAAAHHHH, of course he got himself killed" said Mozzie. "Bloody fantastic!"

Mozzie was agitated, so was I. The chances of us winning this were getting slimmer by the second, and no one had a legit plan underway.

"Anyone got any bright ideas?" I ask.

A cold metal object was pressed against the back of my head, the atmosphere of the room suddenly changing. Someone got the best of us and sneaked in. They had taken advantage of the little time Mozzie and I got distracted to get the better of us. I didn't even hear them come in, which surprised me the most.

"Here's an idea, why don't you surrender?"

The voice behind me could only belong to Thatcher. His mocking tone reminded me of our training sessions, and how I could never best him. Mozzie hadn't moved from his spot. He just stared at the gun Thatcher had to my head. Another set of footsteps could be heard from behind me, Amaru stepped into my field of view seconds later. She looked at me for a split second before turning her attention to my friend on the ground.

"Looks like you both have had enough already. Tell us were Smoke is and we promise to end this match quickly" she said, examining the room.

"How should I know?" replied Mozzie, gazing up at the woman.

"Keeping tabs on your teammates is a good habit to have. You should try it sometime"

"Since you don't have the information we want, we should just end this here" Thatcher added, pressing the gun to my head again to emphasize his point.

"Wait wait wait, how about we make a deal? I give you Smoke's location in exchange for a favour" Mozzie replied, a grin forming on his lips.

A moment of silence passed as the two enemy operatives exchanged a look, noticing Mozzie's mischievous tone. I fear I would dislike whatever favour Mozzie would ask of them. For the little time I have known him, I could tell this favour would turn into an inside joke that will last for years. With Thatcher involved, I think I already have a good idea of the nature of Mozzie's favour.

"What kind of favour are we talking about?" ask Amaru.

"If Thatcher agrees to call Saber 'son' for the rest of the day, I will tell you where Smoke is" replied Mozzie.

Really?