The cave wasn't that large. The supply tent wasn't big enough to hold the materials Braxton was carrying either. It was more of a butchers shop than a supply depot. The creatures killed were delivered there and skinned. They gutted them and used the innards for compost to grow the white plant life natural to the planet. Many of the flavors he knew from home were available, but they looked completely different.
The hospital was on the left side of the cave and it was smaller than the medical lab he was carrying too. The science center was the largest complex there. The command center was directly down the center of the cave. The whole place contained approximately fifty people. They rotated between increasing the complex and doing guard duties.
Braxton offloaded the supplies he had been given. The Atomic lathe and the medical clean room took up large sections of the cavern. The center of the place was normally empty and was now filled. The pallet of food was welcomed warmly. It was like a taste of home for many of the people who hadn't been back on Earth for over ten years. They were each only allowed one box of twenty MRE's. The rest were kept in the supply depot. The ammo supply caused an uproar. The noise brought the commander out of his tent.
"What the hell is this shit doing cluttering up the middle of my cave! And what is all the shouting about?" The Major bellowed.
The Major crossed the way to the supply tent. The supply Sargent spoke up. "We had a runner actually make it in with supplies. We got a nice supply of ammo again. Almost ten thousand rounds of ammo and close to five hundred grenades. It almost makes me feel like I have a job to do again. He also has delivered the resources we need for rebuilding the teleportation gate. It isn't everything, but, we can collect the base off the surface. Then set it up down here, after we can get that sniper off the tower. We can craft everything else I think."
"Have the runner report to me ASAP. I need to assess his or her skills. They made it here which takes a little luck or talent. Maybe we finally got someone useful." The Major ordered.
"It's this young man right here sir. Calls himself Ace." The supply Sargent responded quickly.
"Good, follow me Ace." The Major said lazily.
"Yes sir." Braxton replied.
The two walked into the command tent. There was a makeshift desk. It was the remainder of his original desk that had been blown apart. A rock was turned into a stool in front of his desk for someone to sit on. "Let's get down to brass tacks. I need to know what skills you possess. Let's start with that and move on. I'm Major Blade, most people call me Major and you can address me as such. We do hinge mostly military around here. You get out of line and you can expect a solid smack upside your head. Follow orders period. We don't have enough people left, so I have to use you in dangerous positions at times. Practice with the soldiers when you have time between your assigned duties."
"My armor skill is Combat camouflage. I received a crash course in melee combat and weapons focus with clubs, swords and spears. I also received a crash course in ranged combat. My UI seems focused on ranged attacks. I have very little skills outside of gaming. I was fairly decent at FPS type games before I ran away from home. I lived on he streets for two years. I guess you could say I have some survival skills." Braxton stated.
"Draw a sniper rifle from the supply Sargent. Then go up and see if you can kill that sniper." Major Blade ordered.
"I've still got a few hours before my Combat camouflage finishes developing. Can I wait until I've have a chance to practice with it?" Braxton inquired.
"Sure, take the time to settle in. Nightfall will be in a few hours. I want you up there and setup first thing in the morning. The ammo needs to be kept quiet until the next day at least if possible. I don't want the sniper to get worried before we have a shot at him." Major Blade explained plainly.
He refocused then said "You are dismissed. If you survive tomorrow you will be my new scout."
"Yes sir." Braxton said. Under his breathe he was thinking; Shit, if only I had waited a few seconds I might not be here now.
Braxton went and got a meal from the mess tent. It was surprising better than he expected. The meat was tough but the vegetables were tasty. Blackjack caught up with him before he finished his meal and passed him a vial of blue blood. "This is the blood of the black cat. We call them Nightstalkers. Quite deadly critters if you're not well versed in combat. They are good for stat boosting. Strength and dexterity increases as well as potential vitality are common boosts. You can also get special abilities from drinking blood. Shadowstep is one of these creatures abilities. You can travel between shadows with it the first level. It isn't that much, it's only ten feet, but more of the blood can increase the distance. Mine is up to fifty feet now. It is pretty much a lifesaver when snipers get on scene. Being able to move between shadows makes it hard for them to locate you."
"That sounds pretty sweet. Thanks Blackjack." Braxton uncorked the vial and downed the blood.
"Processing Nightstalker blood." Alpha's voice chimed in Braxton's head.
"I'm going to get some rest. I've got some work to do in the morning. Just one more stop before bed." Braxton departed and headed for the supply depot.
"Major Blade told me to draw a sniper rifle." Braxton informed the supply Sargent.
"I've got one. The scope isn't very good. It's a 7.62mm. I'll give you twenty rounds to go with it. That should be plenty for a sniper. Call me Jax. Say, the Major said you were skilled in camouflage. If you get a chance, see if you can loot those bodies and return with that gear. We really could use whatever they got. If you can't get that then loot the gate. I need that step up down here to facilitate repairs. It'll also make it so new people don't have to cross a battlefield to get to safety. It will help us get it setup for people to return to Earth too. You could really help people here out a lot." Jax pleaded lightly.
"I will see what I can do. It is hard to say what I'll run into when I hit the surface again." Braxton replied.
"Sure thing Ace. Those are just some things we need to get done. Under cover of night with camo you'd almost be a ghost." Jax returned.