As Mya carefully packed the last of her regulation uniform into her bag she exhaled a deep breath she hadn't realised she had been holding until that moment. She sat on the edge of the bed in her small and cosy apartment and looked around somewhat wistfully, she always felt this way when it came time to deploy again. It was even more difficult this time, she had been 'home' for a year and a half…much longer than usual. In fact it was probably the longest stretch she had spent in her own home since taking out her mortgage four years ago. It wasn't anything grand, it only had two bedrooms, one living room, a fairly small bathroom and a modest sized kitchen. But it was hers, and over the past eighteen months she had finally got around to redecorating the place to exactly the way she wanted it…and now she was leaving for goodness knows where. All she knew was that she was to serve aboard a ship rather than remain planet side this time. This came with its own set of issues. Planet side deployments were at least inclusive of most of your home comforts…whereas when you were on board a ship you lost a lot of the luxuries such as proper food…long showers…shared accommodations…she could go on at length.
Mya's reverie was interrupted by a ping from her Omni tool. Snapping out of it, she raised her forearm and connected to her Alliance internal mail, she expected that this was crunch time, the moment of truth where she would finally learn where she was to serve for the foreseeable future.
"SSV Normandy? Huh…I've not heard of that one…must be a new build…maybe…could it be THE new build that we've been hearing whispers about for years?" Mya murmured out loud to her empty apartment. Her imagination started running wild almost immediately. She worked within Alliance Intelligence, specialising in monitoring comms for chatter and also foreign fleet movements. Basically it was a sit on your ass in front of a monitor all day type job, not forgetting her ultra-sensitive headphones. It often came as a shock to her crew mates when she would first meet them that she was in fact biotic and yet not being utilised in the field, it was something she wondered about herself all too frequently. She had nothing against field work either, she wouldn't have gone through Biotic training if she had…it was usually expected that Biotics would be headed straight for the front lines. In her case however, they had opted to make use of her linguistic and tech abilities instead. She had tried raising the issue with her superiors on more than one occasion and had been repeatedly told in blunt terms that if she wasn't happy with her situation she was always welcome to not reup once her contract was finished with.
Whilst she found her career strange, she had all but given up any chance of moving into the field at this point. She hadn't wanted to ever do anything else but be in the Alliance and therefore she wouldn't risk anything that might get her thrown out. Her father had been a military man, as had her grandfather, and his father. It was something of a tradition in her family and she felt proud to continue on in their footsteps, even if she was essentially desk bound.
"Well…let's go check out the Normandy then shall we…"
It was a short journey from her apartment in downtown Vancouver to the Alliance base, during which Mya found it exceedingly difficult to sit still. In spite of the fact that she had been loath to leave home, it would be exciting to serve on board a ship. Hopefully she would meet new people, make some new friends and see some new planets. It had been a wonderful break from the monotony of military life this past eighteen months, but one of the reasons she had enlisted in the first place was for the adventure and while she hated to admit it, she had been suffering itchy feet for a while now. Besides, perhaps it would be nice not to be living on her own for a while.
As her cab pulled up to the security checkpoint, she felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach that reminded her that her life was about to change completely and utterly. Her driver was kind enough to unload her bags from the trunk for her, in spite of the fact that it was hardly necessary. Mya may have looked somewhat puny at first glance, but she was certainly stronger than she appeared. There was no denying that she was petite, though she could more than take care of herself with her well-honed biotics or indeed most weapons. She had needed to pass basic training just the same as everyone else after all. After paying for her fare, Mya slung both bags easily over each shoulder and approached the gate with a broad smile. She knew John and Pete who were on duty today, they had checked her credentials many times before. Mya had been based here, and as such she knew this base like the back of her hand, she hadn't been travelling through in this manner however for quite some time.
"Oooh…today is the big day Pete…little Miss Mya is all grown up and deploying." John sighed and clutched his chest as though the thought of the separation was too painful.
"What will we do without her for the next year or so?" Pete echoed the sentiment, waggling his eyebrows at her playfully. Mya laughed heartily, she had needed the levity to ease her nerves, especially since as per usual there was nobody with her to send her off.
"More importantly what will you do without my baking? Or indeed my help in picking out gifts for your parents for birthdays and holidays?" Mya pointed out with a tilt of her head and a wink. The pair exchanged horrified glances before looking at her desperately.
"We can still reach you by email can't we? That way we can still pick your brain for gift advice?" John asked quickly. Mya chuckled and nodded. They were goofballs but she would miss these two.
"Of course you can, provided we have access wherever we happen to be in the big wide universe." Mya shrugged with a sad smile.
"Now, now…don't go making us jealous! You get to experience the vastness of Space, while we are stuck here doing checkpoint duty." John offered soothingly. Mya smiled and nodded. She knew she was fortunate, there were many who would love to be in her shoes, she just wished she knew somebody beforehand so she wouldn't feel so much like the new girl upon arrival.
"You're right, I am very lucky fellas. I will drop you both an email when I get situated." She promised, replacing her i.d in her breast pocket.
"Do that, we cannot wait to hear what you'll get up to. Travel safely Danson." Pete offered a genuine smile and a salute. She responded with a smile and salute of her own, before headed for the shuttle that would take her to the Normandy's dock.