Master Sergeant Maxwell Mason stood off away from the crowd as Apogee gave the welcome announcement and such. He sighed and thought to himself, [i]What the hell am I doing here?[/i] He shook his head, he knew why. After the girl finished talking, he walked over to a table and set the case on top of it. 

His dog followed and sat at his feet. "Good boy, Chance. Watch!" Chance sat at attention watching the rest of the room. He was trained to give Mason a warning if anyone was approaching.

Mason open the case and pulled out his M16. He started breaking the gun down a cleaning it. From what he heard he was probably the weakest person here. At least ability wise anyway. He had always been able to hold his own.