The following day, David was driving his Camaro to the outskirts of Washington DC, he glanced at the taped note on his dashboard and checked the oncoming signs to see if he was going the right way.
" First day…remember to make a good impression. " David reminded himself as he spotted a large building on the horizon. He recognized it from the photograph in his pocket and knew where he was. The headquarters of the government task force, FOXHOUND, David grinned widely as he drove out through the exit and parked in the parking lot. David grabbed his duffel bag which laid rest on the passenger's seat, then grabbed his Walkman and stepped out of his car. David then spotted a man in a black suit and gray trench coat with a brown cigar in his mouth, an older gentleman who despite his age still appeared built like an athlete. His hair was slicked back and his beard connected from his sideburns, but more notably, the man had a black eyepatch covering his right eye. David had heard legends of this man, the legendary hero who saved the world many times, the man who only goes by one name, Big Boss. Big Boss turned and spotted the young 23 year old and just walked towards him.
"Second Lieutenant David Halley, nice to finally meet you. I am Big Boss, your new commander." Big Boss held out his left hand which felt awe inspiring to David. Meeting a legendary hero who needed no introductions, David proudly shook Big Boss's hand, feeling his cold almost metallic like grip.
"It's-it's nice to meet you, sir." said David nervously, Big Boss chuckled out some smoke,
"There's no need to be nervous, son, you're in FOXHOUND now. Guess I kept you waiting, huh?" Big Boss replied with a grin,
"No, no, if anyone's kept you waiting it was me, sir." David said,
"No need to be so formal, sport. Just call me Big Boss, you're in FOXHOUND now, you have to get used to not doing things like you were taught." Big Boss tossed his cigar aside and put it out before leading David inside the building. They were walking past the groups of office workers and soldiers, David couldn't help but feel welcomed in this building, all his hard work finally bringing him to this moment.
"I read your file, David. Successful stealth operations in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, extracting civilians and POWs behind enemy lines. Earning the Southwest Asia Service medal, multiple awards and getting the Medal of Honor by President Bush and yet you were merely a Sergeant Major. During the 6 month training process for FOXHOUND, you came close to defeating Gray Fox. That's a lot under your belt, you definitely are exceptional, Lieutenant Halley." stated Big Boss,
"I always strived for more, sir."
"Is it true what they said, about you fighting a Mi-7 attack helicopter with just your M16 and a grenade all by yourself?" asked Big Boss, David awkwardly rubbed the back of his head,
"Just beginner's luck, sir-Big Boss." awkwardly replied David,
"No such thing as luck on the battlefield, sport. It's either you do it or you die."
"Right." David replied. Big Boss pressed the button to call the elevator, the doors opened and both men entered. Big Boss then pressed the top floor button as the doors closed.
"It says on your file you were raised by McDonell Miller. Good man, I served with him in Vietnam, how is he?" David raised an eyebrow,
"Good, Kaz never said he knew you?"
"I wonder why he wouldn't mention me?" questioned Big Boss.
"Well, you know Kaz and how he is."
"Fair point. I guess I should explain why I requested you so early, Lieutenant. You're our only shot despite being a rookie." explained Big Boss, David turned towards him,
"What is it?"
"Two weeks ago, we got word that one of our bases in South Africa, Outer Heaven, was taken by a group of mercenaries. We sent a couple of our operatives including Gray Fox but we lost contact with them a few days ago."
"What's so important about this base?" Big Boss turned to David,
"It's not the base that is important, it's what the base is holding." The elevator stopped and Big Boss stepped out, David was confused by the situation and wondered why mercenaries would take over that specific base. The floor had a command center which held a giant computer monitor and many workers typing away. On the screen showed the faces of the operatives captured and a satellite map of the base in the corner of South Africa. From the image David saw, it looked like majority of it was on water with a portion of it on the land,
"The base holds a scientist, sort of the modern day Oppenheimer. Dr Drago Pettrovich Madnar, a Russian scientist who defected from the Soviet Union in the 70s, he's known as the father of robotics. From what Washington told us, Madnar created some sort of advanced weapon that is capable of destroying nations in the matter of a few minutes. We don't have intel on this weapon but that's why we're sending you." David gave a flabbergasted look once he said that,
"Me?! But this is just my first day, I don't know if I can handle something so major like this, Big Boss. I don't even have a codename or know what to do-" Big Boss put a reassuring hand on his shoulder,
"Listen, son. You weren't chosen for FOXHOUND because of beginner's luck. You were chosen because you're the best out of the millions of special force guys who send applications from around the world, you were chosen for a reason. That reason is to prove your worth as a soldier, not for a country, not for governments but because of yourself. It's for that reason alone I'm giving you your codename, abandoning who you are in civilian life because that is not important here. From now on you will not go by Second Lieutenant David Justin Halley, you will only be known as Solid Snake." David felt a jolt of motivation and inspiration once Big Boss gave him his codename, he felt blessed that such a legend would give him his name. The name that he believed will go down in history, Solid Snake. David smiled and nodded, unknowing of what he will face, he knew this was his chance to leave his mark on history and FOXHOUND.
"Ok Big Boss, you can count on me." Big Boss smiled and patted his shoulder,
"That's what I want to hear." Big Boss replied with a grin. Later, Big Boss was leading Solid Snake to the preparation room,
"Our very own pilot, Eagle Eye will fly you to South Africa at approximately 2200 hours. Your mission will be dropping down near the coast of the first building. From there you will make your way towards the first building. Your first objective is to find Gray Fox and the other operatives, Kyle Schneider Aka Blackbird, Jennifer Mercer Aka Silent Viper, Diane Hudson Aka Golden Eagle and her brother, Steve Hudson Aka Steel Eagle. After you find the operatives, your next objective is to find Madnar and his weapon, destroy the weapon and identify the leader behind this takeover."
"How do you know someone is leading them?" asked Snake,
"Mercenaries don't just take over a base." He pulled out his keycard and pressed it onto the door to open it. The lights turned on and showed crates of weapons, benches and lockers,
"Since the weight of the rifle will only stagger you, you'll be going in with a M1911 pistol, an MK 22 Hush Puppy and a combat knife." Big Boss explained, he then opened a locker that held a navy blue uniform that had rolled up sleeves, a black long sleeve shirt, fingerless gloves, knee pads, black boots and a belt that had straps on the shoulders. Big Boss dug in the locker and pulled out a earpiece that was connected to a small wrist device,
"This is a little handy device called a codec. The codec has an impenetrable frequency and communicates through simple input. My frequency will already be inserted but it's 120.85. You got 30 minutes to prepare for the flight." Snake nodded as Big Boss left the locker room. Snake began undressing and putting the uniform on, he felt comfortable in the uniform as it fit him very well. Snake then put the earpiece on and put on a belt which had many pouches then put on his thigh holsters. After he finished getting ready, he walked to Big Boss who just simply smiled. Big Boss led Solid Snake to an airfield nearby where a cargo plane lay waiting for their arrival. Solid entered the plane and sat on the bench inside. The plane began turning on and the engines began winding up slowly,
"Contact me once you land, Snake. We're rooting for you!"shouted Big Boss, Solid nodded and saluted him before the cargo doors closed shut. He buckled up and leaned back as he began thinking about the mission. It was his first day and everyone was already counting on him to complete the mission successfully, he couldn't deny he was nervous about going to this rogue enemy base but Solid Snake simply took a deep breath as he assumed the threats he would face would definitely be the toughest he's faced but the question still remains on his mind on what kind of weapon did Madnar make that he will eventually face.