Being an Intelligence and Surveillance technician meant that you were never out in the field. But it didn't mean you were away from action. You kept an eye (and ear) on things from the surveillance room back at the Shadow Company base. Several monitors were constantly feeding you information that were crucial for the soldiers out there in the field. GPS coordinates, maps, drones video feed.

You didn't know the faces of the soldiers you worked with. Only their voices and callsigns. And for them, you were only the voice on the radio. Even back at the base, their barracks and training grounds were separate from the office buildings you worked in. Most soldiers viewed the Intelligence team as a bunch of tech-nerds that spent their time sitting on their butts in safety. It was hard to earn respect when they all thought you weren't a 'real deal soldier' like them.

There was one team that you always liked to work with, though. Shadow 0-1, directly under Commander Graves. Graves definitely seemed to appreciate your efforts and expertise. He never made you feel like your job is less valuable, and would put his Shadows in their place if they made any disrespectful comments.

They were out on a mission that day, and you followed their moves on your monitors. You intercepted the enemy's radio channel. The team was heading towards a decoy location, where instead of their target, snipers awaited. It was a trap. You needed to call for retreat.

"Shadow 0-1, this is Intel, how copy?" You spoke through the radio.

"Ah, Intel. Always a pleasure to hear your whisper in my ear." Graves responded.

You muted yourself for a moment, to let out a soft laugh, before speaking again.

"Let’s keep that kind of talk for a secure private channel, Commander." You said, sure that he could hear it in your voice that you were still smiling.

Graves’ next words were back to being professional, but you heard playfulness in his voice still. "Yup, copy you loud and clear. What do you have for us, Intel?"