Caboose continues to walk around, still in his state of depression. 

"Depression. Loneliness. Confusion. Slight indigestion. Oh Church... Ah, I miss you so much!" Caboose shouts up at the sky. "Who is supposed to be my best friend while you are gone?! Tucker?! That guy isn't even a shade of blue! It's like an...aqua." Caboose hears a snapping sound. 

"Hello? Um...who's there? Tucker is that you? Zone? Agent Washington? HELLO!" 

"HELLO!" Caboose's echo yells back. 

"Oh, that was just me, that was stupid. Have a nice day!" 

"THANKS, YOU TOO!" 

"Well, I am a very pleasant person." Caboose hears another snap. "Okay, me, you can cut it out now! This is getting a little silly." 

Caboose then gasps upon seeing something. "Hello..." 

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Zone, Wash, and Tucker are standing outside of a cavern. 

"Tucker...in basic training, there is a point when the drill sergeant attempts to "break" his or her soldiers so that they may overcome their civilian mindset and focus on the responsibility and selflessness of becoming a true soldier." Wash starts out. 

"Uh, bro. I went through basic ages ago! True soldier, standing right here!" Tucker says thumbing at himself. 

"Really? What's the UNSC motto?" Zone asks. 

"When in doubt, rub one out." 

"We are going to break you...Private Tucker." Wash says in a deep voice. 

"Ooh, I'm shaking in my armor." Tucker says pretending to get shivers. 

"Inside this tunnel is an elaborate obstacle course designed to test both you and Zone's reflexes and your mettle." 

"Uhh...like...copper?" 

"No, that's metal. He said "mettle"." Zone clarifies. 

"Whatever." Tucker rolls his eyes. 

Wash pulls out his pistol. "On your mark...get set..." 

"This is such bull..." Wash shoots Tucker in the leg. 

"OW! OKAY! I'M GOING!" 

Tucker and Zone race through the obstacle course. They run past a stack of cones which Tucker misses but shoots all four down. 

"Stupid cones!" 

"You're just mad because you're a terrible shot when running." Tucker destroys an obstacle with his sword, then lands on a group of mines.

"Holy crap!" He yells getting blown back. Zone somersaults over them. They both then avoid various bullets being fired from nowhere. 

"Oh, God! Where is this coming from?!" Tucker cries. They then run past various soldiers fighting the Covenant. "Who are these people?" 

"Just keep moving you whiny cicada!" Zone tells him. They then run through a tunnel and avoid getting hit by Spartan V driving a Warthog. 

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Tucker yells. They finally exit the tunnel, Tucker being exhausted, falls to the ground. 

"Congratulations, Private. That time was... adequate... for a beginner." Wash states. Zone kneels down and helps Tucker to his feet. 

"What was... I don't..." Tucker says trying to catch his breath. 

"Just an adrenaline rush Tucker. It'll wear off." Zone says patting his back. 

"I'm..." 

"Shaking in your armor?" Wash asks grinning. Caboose then runs up. 

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy...Hello, hello!" 

"Caboose! Glad to see you're feeling better! We've got a little exercise for you! Inside this cave is an elaborate obstacle course, designed to..." Caboose quickly races through and completes the obstacle course. 

"Okay, that was fun! Gotta go do stuff! Don't ask questions! Thank you, goodbye!" Caboose then runs off, leaving the exhausted Sim Trooper and two ex-Freelancers stunned. 

"...I think that's enough training for today." Zone suggests. 

"Yeah." Tucker agrees. 

"Uh, I'm gonna go work on the Comm Tower." Wash then leaves. 

"I'll go grab the toolbox from my dad." Zone then leaves Tucker who collapses to the ground again. Cyclops comes up and stands over the aqua soldier, growling. Tucker swallows nervously. 

"Good...doggy." Tucker looks in the direction Zone left. "UH? ZONE!!!" 

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Back at Red Base, Simmons walks up to Grif. 

"Hey roomie, uh you got a second for me?" 

"Sup?" 

"Oh, you know, not much, not much...uh...oh, so, question for you..." 

"Uh huh." Grif says waiting. 

"By any chance, have you seen my toothbrush?" Simmons asks awkwardly. 

"Uhhh. I don't think so."

"Okay, okay, you sure?" 

"Yeah." 

"Huh 'cause I'm pretty sure I saw you with it earlier." Simmons recalls. 

"Dude, you're acting weird." Grif states. 

"Huh...what...what do you mean?" 

"I mean...clearly you're accusing me of using your toothbrush but instead of just coming out and saying it you're being really passive aggressive and tiptoeing around the accusation." 

"Huh." 

"You did the same thing when I left the lights on and when I put my boots on your side of the room." Grif adds. 

"Mhmm." Simmons glances to the side. 

"And I feel that there's this constant tension growing between us that's inevitably going to erupt over what would normally be considered a small issue." 

"Yeah...well...you know I wouldn't be asking you about my toothbrush if I hadn't seen you with it earlier."

"I used your toothbrush." Grif replies simply. 

"I KNEW IT!" Simmons pulls out his pistol and aims it at Grif's head. 

"DUDE! What's wrong with you?!" 

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with YOU?! You keep stacking dishes in the sink! I don't even think you've eaten off of some of them! For all I know, you're doing it because you're FREAKING BORED!" 

"Wait, isn't the sink just where dishes go?" 

"NO! They go on the cupboard!" Simmons states. 

"We have a cupboard?!" Grif says shocked. 

Sarge then comes out into the hall. "Hey! Keep it down in there! I'm trying to watch my stories!" 

"Sarge, please tear down the wall! I can't take Grif's laziness in small spaces!" Simmons begs.

"I'm sorry, Simmons. But we all have to make sacrifices...except for me because I'm in charge." Sarge shrugs. 

"Hey Simmons, this probably isn't the best time to say this but, uh we're out of toilet paper." Grif says rubbing his helmet. 

"What?! HOW?!" Simmons cries. 

"I dunno." Grif says ignoring the fact that he'd TP-ed the Blues' tank. 

"Ahem." The Reds turn and see Zone. "I believe you borrowed my toolbox." 

"What do you need a toolbox for?" Simmons asks. 

"Repairing the Comm Tower. I know you three are having fun playing house, but I'd really rather do something constructive with my time. Like saving us from soon to be imminent starvation." Zone says crossing his arms. 

"Playing house?! Rex...this is a highly-" Sarge notices he stepped over the sandbags instead going around. "Whoops, forgot to use the door!" 

"Toolbox. Now." Zone demands. 

"Upstairs." Grif says thumbing upward. 

"Show me." 

"Fine...but don't touch any of my stuff!" Grif sighs leading him to his room. 

"Ugh, this place is a pigsty." Zone groans in disgust. 

"It's not a pigsty Zone, it's a way of life." Grif snaps. 

"So your way of life is living like a pig, seems fitting for your personality." 

"Screw you!" 

"Hey Sarge, didn't we recover an old robot-building kit from the crash?" Simmons asks. 

"Sure did! Makes a great foot rest! I like to prop my feet up while I'm watching my stories." 

"Well, if we were to re purpose the robot's radio transmitter for the Comm Tower, we might be able to-" 

Sarge raises his hand, silencing Simmons. "Simmons, I'm going to have to stop you before your terrible plan becomes any more terrible." 

"Oh..." Simmons says sadly. 

"Fortunately, I believe we may be able to use this robot kit to build some sort of robot! We could put it to work constructing a radio transmitter and then the Comm Tower would be fixed in no time!" 

"Well, don't you think it would be better if-" 

"Not at all! Let's build a robot!" Sarge leaves to find the kit. 

"I hate them." Simmons sighs.

"Are those my socks?" Zone asks from upstairs. 

"Yeah...but you probably don't want those back." Grif answers. 

"I hate all of them." Simmons says exiting the base.