Solitary (TPF)

Samuel reloaded his MA5K Carbine for another night-time shooting exercise as the rest of the training group took a break. He listened to the idle chat about how each other’s families were doing, any big events that recently happened in their lives, and enjoying the company of others.
Seeing the group was in no hurry to get back to training, Sam pushed back through the shoot house to test his CQB skills. No armor, HUD, and Warnings brought him back to when he was training on Onyx to become a SPARTAN.
It was easy to get lost in the shoot house. Sam only needed to focus on the next target he had to engage. The adrenaline and serenity allowed him to flow around the area and engage each target with precision. Rounding the final corner, he engaged the two targets with a red square then made it to the end.
Only seeing the Senior Chief Petty Officer, Sam made his way over to see what was up.
“Where did the rest of the group go?”
“They’re headed to the bar, wanted to let you know so you didn’t come back to nothing.”
Sam looked at the Senior Chief perplexed. They had the range for another hour, and it was a good night to night-time shooting. Plus it was even the Senior Chief’s idea, Sam didn’t understand why people wanted to leave so early.
“This early?” Sam asked as he around. “We still have a lot of time, ma'am.”
“That’s no problem, more times for you to run the shoot house.” Senior Chief smiled at Sam and patted him on the shoulder. “Range is all yours kid. Enjoy the night.”
Before Sam could respond, the Senior Chief made her way off the range and left Sam by himself. He cursed to himself for being stuck on the range alone again. It was bound to be a pointless night since Sam would retire to the barracks and spend the time alone.
He turned to look out at the shoot house then back where the Senior Chief walked. Maybe the LONEWOLF work was worse than better. Sam knew Vilda could attach him to a Task Unit and get him out in the field by the end of the week if he needed to. It would help with avoiding the isolation feeling.
It was also frustrating for Sam to recognize he refused to talk to people about his social situation. The Psych Officer he talked to seemed to only care about his operational status, everything else was secondary. He only mattered out in the field, sitting on base was a waste of a valuable asset.
“I hate being alone and I hate garrison life.” Sam muttered to himself as he reloaded his MA5K.
Remembering his training, he pushed his thoughts and feelings aside to focus on the shooting exercises the Senior Chief planned out. She was nice enough to leave them behind, Sam was still pissed for being left on the range. Why didn’t he ask if he could join them?
Finishing another exercise, Sam looked up and found himself searching for Mathilda. He hoped she’d give him an answer to his problem, much like she did on Onyx. However, there was only silence and a quiet sigh.
“Where are you when I need you the most?” He asked while staring at the stars.
In the moment, Sam decided he was going to ask Vilda to assign him to a Task Unit. He needed to get out of the isolated atmosphere. He also decided to tell the Psych Officer how he truly felt about being stationed planet side with nothing to do. The two decisions cemented his desire to improve his social situation.