45 Days Later, Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico
Ssgt. Mitchell and WO Peterson look out the side of their UH-1 'Huey' transport to the waters of the Gulf. On the horizon a large structure looms by itself in the middle of the water. Nothing around for miles, a nondescript looking oil rig begins to take shape. As the Huey begins to land, Peterson mutters to nobody in particular. "Hmm...Now that's different."
Peterson and Mitchell hurry to grab their gear as they see a group of about 20 other soldiers standing in formation. From almost nowhere a loud voice starts barking out orders.
"You two! Get in this formation. This isn't the line for chow!"
Mitchell looks over towards Peterson and says quickly under her breath "oh boy...here we go again..." and shuffles towards the formation.
"You have all been picked to join this new elite counter-terrorist unit, based here in the Gulf. You've been chosen because you are the best at what you do. And we need the best. Not only that, we REQUIRE it. I am General Clayton Abernathy, affectionately known as Hawk. You will all be given codenames as well. You should call each other by that name. Gunny Sgt Jenkins here will show you to your bunks. We will meet in the meeting room at 17:00 hours. Feel free to hit up the chow before then. At ease!"
With that, Hawk heel turned and walked towards the main building on the rig. Gunny ushered the new recruits below deck and towards the bunk, handing out room assignments to the newbies. Accommodations are small, but better than most bunks and far better than any Seabee has ever seen.
Peterson had unpacked his gear and already set up his laptop to check his mail. This place may not have high speed internet, but at least his cell phone had enough signal to dial out for him. Mitchell, tossed her gear into the closet and headed for chow.
The recruits enjoy a first meal of meatloaf cooked by the one and only Chief Chef, Capt. Ronald "Crunch" Reynolds. (Yeah, I made the chef Captain Crunch...the great part of the 80s and JOE cartoons was all the 'cheese' that made its way in!) Mitchell and Peterson end up sitting together, partly because they only knew each other, and partly because Mitchell was a woman, and Peterson didn't need to sit around the table with a bunch of other guys with a pretty lady sitting by herself.
After chow it was time for the first briefing for the new team. In the briefing room, Hawk started with his usual jovial nature. "This aint Kindergarten, and I know it's about the corniest way to do it, but since nobody knows each other here, lets go round the room and introduce ourselves. You," he points at Mitchell, "start it off."
"SSGT Lisa Mitchell, codename Hotwire, specialty Demolitions."
"Joshua Peterson, Warrant Officer 3, Cellphone, Signal Intel."
The rest of the new JOEs introduced themselves to the group and Hawk moved forward with the briefing. "This, ladies and gentlemen, is the NEW Cobra Commander. Leader of an old, but very sly, Terrorist Group." A picture of Cobra Commander flashes on the front screen in the room. "COBRA, as identified by the snake symbol on his uniform, is very elite. Not your run of the mill terrorists here. They are highly trained, and seek world domination. It's our mission to stop them." On every desk was a file with small dossiers of Cobra Commander and whatever intel they had on COBRA that's not Top Secret. As he introduced the other ranking members of COBRA, images flash on the screen:
Destro, Supplier of weapons and master tactician
ShadowKat, Top Lieutenant, Martial arts expert
Jax, Lieutenant and bodyguard of the commander
Anthrax, Chief scientist and biological weapons expert
"Take these dossiers back to your rooms. Learn it. Live it. You'll need to know EVERYTHING about these guys to combat them successfully. Dismissed."
"Hotwire, Cellphone, stay put. You've got yourself a mission. COBRA has kidnapped a high profile scientist and we believe he is being held captive on a remote island. Your mission orders are in these envelopes." He hands the two recruits their first orders. "And by the way, bring your swimming trunks. Water insertion. Be back here at 0500 tomorrow for a pre-mission briefing."
As they walk back towards their bunks, Hotwire shakes her head. "You wonder why they are sending us on this mission?"
"Because we are expendable I am sure, they want to see if we can hold up to the test." CellPhone cracked a smile and headed to his bunk to do some research on this scientist.
[commecial break]
I think I'll make this the secound story hour I'm watching. 
