Chris' muscles strained as he pulled up on the bar above him. He held his chin over it for a few seconds before relaxing his muscles and lowering himself back onto the ground. He stretched out his hands, his palms tingling after gripping the bar so tightly for so long. His hazel eyes swept across the training room where the rest of his squad and a few others were working out.

"Hardy!" a gruff voice called from the other side of the room. Chris looked over and saw Commander Chead walking into the room. Wiping his face with a hand towel, Chris met the commander halfway across the room.

"You called, sir?" Chris said after saluting the older man. The commander held up a folder before holding it out towards Chris. Chris raised an eyebrow as he took the folder. He flipped to the first page to be greeted with a picture of a young woman with wavy black hair. "Lily Tier?" he read, looking back up at Chead.

"The newest addition to your team," Chead said. "A sniper."

"'…accurate with a standard bow up to 500 yards.' She's an elite sniper. Jesus, Commander." Chris paused, shaking his head incredulously. "She doesn't belong with me. She belongs with one of the elite squads. Not to mention I handpick my squad."

"Yes well that didn't work out so well for her and she's proven useful on squads like yours. Besides, you'll need her for an upcoming assignment so you'll have to accept her even if you don't want to."

"What assignment?"

"You'll get it soon. Tier will report to your cabin at five tonight. I'll be there around the same time to brief you." Chris nodded and saluted the commander once more before the commander walked off. Chris glanced at the file before tossing it aside and resuming his workout.

"Coming!" Chris called when he heard a knock on the door. He glanced at the clock and saw it was five exactly. He opened the door. When he didn't immediately come face to face with the Commander, he looked down and met the gray eyes of his new sniper.

"Hardy?" she asked. He nodded as he took a step back to allow her in. He looked her up and down as she walked in. Her black hair fell to her shoulder blades; she had a hint of curves on her slender frame and just enough muscle to suggest she was in shape. A duffle bag hung from her shoulder; a mahogany bow was slung across her chest.

"They let you walk around with that?" Chris asked, interrupting her scrutiny of the cabin. She raised an eyebrow and he motioned to her bow. Lily's hand subconsciously wrapped around it.

"Yeah. They don't mind as long as I don't carry arrows around," she replied. Her eyes focused on something behind Chris. She gave a two fingered salute as she said, "Commander."

"Good, you're already here. We can get right down to business," Chead said as he walked in. He took a seat by the fireplace. Chris sat down across from him; Lily stood behind the couch Chris sat on.

"So what's the assignment you mentioned earlier, sir?" Chris asked. The commander placed a thin folder on the table.

"We've recently learned that Veranda has set up a few bases on our territory. They've taken measures to be extremely hidden and it would take months to find even one base if we sent out scouts. We need you and your squad to find, infiltrate, and take down as many of their bases as you can," Chead explained. "Lily here is somewhat of a computer whiz and will handle locating the bases. She'll also obviously lend a hand as sniper during the infiltration and destruction."

Chris glanced at the petite woman before asking, "Do you know what they're here for? They have to have some sort of purpose."

"We believe they're here to gather intel but for all we know, they have a much bigger goal." Chris flipped through the scant information. He let out a deep sigh, his hazel eyes flicking back up to the commander. He knew he wasn't in for an easy or short mission.

"Time frame?"

"None but the sooner it's done, the better." After a few moments of silence, Chead stood up. "I should go. If you have any questions or reports, find me."

"So you're an elite sniper and a computer whiz?" Chris said when the commander left, turning to look at the sniper. Lily returned his gaze coolly.

"I know my way around a computer," was her curt response, completely disregarding the command on her being a sniper. She walked over to the hallway that led to the rooms. "My room?" Chris studied her for a moment before showing her to a room near the end of the hall.

"My room is right across the hall," he added, watching her set down her things.

"I won't be visiting you." His eyebrows furrowed, taken aback by her rude, defensive behavior. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get to work," she told him, motioning for him to leave.

"So how in the hell did you manage to get Lily on our squad?" Rose asked as she sat down backwards on a chair across from Chris at the dining table later that night. Chris looked up at his shotgunner.

"You know her?" he said, raising an eyebrow. She nodded as she twisted her dark brown hair into a bun and pinning it into place with her namesake.

"I went through basic with her before she went off to do her sniper thing. I've seen firsthand how deadly that girl and a bow are."

"What about her personality?"

"She doesn't talk much and likes to keep to herself. If nothing's changed, then her only friend is some engineer slash tech expert named Oliver." Chris was quiet for a moment as he digested this information. "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking are you?" Rose said, suspicious of his thoughtful expression.

"Possibly," Chris answered as he stood up. "I'll see you around. Tell everyone we've got training tomorrow."