UNSC Frigate Beyond Heavens Reach en-route to Cryo Bay Three
March 3 2550

Jacinta fell into step behind her company commander as the two worked their way through the midst of her comrades as they bustled down corridors to the cryo-chambers. Jacinta had never really liked the concept of cryo sleep, it wasn't the undressing and standing naked in front of a bunch of men (though earlier in her career she used to get self-conscious about having to strip in front of her fellow soldiers) it was the nausea that Jacinta would always on emerging from the pod that did it. As she attempted to distract herself from the prospect the mass of ODST's entered Cryo Bay Three. Sitting against the walls, at a slight angle sat the individual cryo-chambers for the Deathstalkers. Their appearance always reminded Jacinta of metal coffins with lights, a gel bed and a window that you don't really get the chance to look though.

Approaching the chamber marked LT. J. Taylor; she placed a hand against its cold outer surface. "Into the freezer we go." She commented glancing in the direction of Tobias whose tube was next to hers at the end of the line of cryo-chambers.
Tobias looked back over his shoulder towards the lieutenant before removing his black t-shirt and placing it on a pedestal next to his own cryo-chamber. "You still get edgy being the only girl in here?" he asked, removing his dog tags and placing them on his shirt before he checked on his troopers as they stripped and climbed into their tubes, walking up and down the twin lines of tubes, making sure that everyone was accounted for before returning to his own tube.
She shook her head when he returned to his chamber as she leant against the outer casing of her own. "No, sir, I've gotten used to being the only woman in your command section. The only issue I have, now is my not-so-iron stomach when it comes getting out." As if proving the point that Jacinta didn't have an issue undressing in front of the men she had trained and fought with; she grabbed hold of the hem of her black shirt where it met her BDU pants and lifted that right over her head along with her dog tags. Placing both articles of clothing on the pedestal near her chamber she then bent at the waist, her breasts hanging slightly, still covered by their black cloth cage, and unlaced her boots, removing them in turn and placing them at the foot of the pedestal. She then stood upright, resting her hands on the thick belt holding up her BDU pants. Her waist had a slight curve where it met her hips, but once the belt was undone her black BDU pants slid down her toned legs to the floor.

The Second Lieutenant was now clad only in standard issue black underwear as she folded and placed her trousers next to her tube. Turning back to the Captain, she reached behind and unclasped her bra, her back to the rest of the men. Removing her bra and slipping off her underwear, she placed the two articles of clothing on the pile.
Now completely naked, the lieutenant returned her hands to her slender hips and smirked, "You don't have a problem with me being the only girl do you, sir?" she decided to ask.
Tobias shrugged, "I'm not complaining, you are one ugly Deathstalker," he commented in almost a pre-rehearsed tongue-in-cheek tone before looking past the naked Second Lieutenant to pair of rookie troopers who had stopped mid-undressing to stare at the toned backside of the officer as if she was the first naked woman they had seen. "And yes the thought of your chiselled stomach turned into knots kinda ruined the image,"
She laughed slightly, causing her breasts to jiggle slightly before she pressed the button on her cryo-chamber to begin the pre-hibernation process; Tobias did the same on his chamber, turning back to see the pair of troopers still staring.
"You've got a pair of admirers," he remarked, gesturing with a subtle head tilt, returning to his tube to unlace his boots, stripping down and placing his clothes on the pedestal.

Jacinta smirked slightly, she had regularly caught herself enjoying the occasional flirtatious comments between the two officers before she turned around to face the rookies, her facial expression returned to its normal neutral expression. Her turning towards them seemed to paralyse the pair in a daze. Pressing her lips together, Jacinta whistled sharply at the men to get their attention, she quickly slipped into her Platoon leader persona. "I know its wartime and this is probably the first time you boys have seen a woman naked before, but I like to remind you that I am even while naked, I am a ranking officer and I suggest you both get your tongues inside your mouth and undress quick smart with your eyes front and centre or I will make sure that you never see another woman again. Do I make myself clear?"

Jacinta watched the rookies snap out of their daze and undress the fast she had seen anyone strip, then rushed into their tubes. At the pace they moved she was surprised neither of them fell into the tube. She glanced across at her veteran staff sergeant who was also watching the exchange who looked like he was struggling to hold in a bout of laughter.

Tobias two, watched as Staff Sergeant Edward "Tex" Howard, suppressed a laugh at the young female officer's gumption. Sure she had only been a Deathstalker for about ten months; and Tobias did admit that she was easy on the eyes; but she also has the steel-in-her-veins to stand toe-to-toe with any of the men in the unit.
"Nicely done, Sin, but maybe next time, take it easy on the rookies, you were an FNG at one point," he remarked quietly, approaching her and placing a hand on her bare shoulder, wheeling her back towards her cryo-pod.
She flinched slightly before nodded automatically. "Yes, sir, apologies," She muttered as she was lead to her tube, she noted how warm Tobias's hand was against her cool skin and was slightly curious as to why he was leading her to her pod. Grabbing the sides of her pod, she used it to help her inside and settle on the gel bed, "Look in safe and sound, no one hurt or in trouble, sir."

Tobias smiled; he couldn't resist a peak at the athletic woman as she hopped into the pod. "Good night Lieutenant, see you in three weeks," he remarked before activating her pod. As the hatch slid closed he watched her freeze before activating the remaining pods and climbing into his own.
Sitting up in the pod, he pressed the key sequence on the panel beside it before hoping in, activating his own pod. The access hatch slid shut and pressurised gas filled the pod, in a second the captain was frozen.

Monitoring the exchange in the Cryo-Bay, along with the automation of the Reach, Andariel watched through her many 'eyes' located throughout the ship, the hundreds of cameras that she used to monitor the progress of the ship and crew. She checked internal cameras for the location of the captain, and activated the holotank nearest him.
"Captain, the crew is now in hibernation, and the battle group is ready to enter Slipspace, Shaw-Fugikawa Slipspace Drive is at full power and able to be brought online at your order." she reported, crossing one leg under the other, to make it appear as if she was sitting on an invisible chair, joining the captain at his desk in the wardroom.
"Do we have launch confirmation from the Saratoga?" Nathanial asked looking up at the AI that sat at the end of his desk, as systems normally maintained by human crewmembers had now been taken care of by Andariel, the captain could hear a change in the ship as the crew went into hibernation.

Andariel's avatar dimmed as lines of code ran across her body, "The Saratoga has not updated the mission clock," she replied before displaying the mission timer below her feet. 00:09:43.
Nathanial nodded, before locking down his terminal and standing. "Prepare to bring the Shaw-Fugikawa Drive online, notify all personnel not yet in cryo to prepare for the jump. What is the travel time from here to the deployment area?"
The AI nodded, "Understood, Captain, all decks are reporting ready. Jump time from Antioch to Concordia is three weeks, however considering that Arcadia has fallen and has been retaken twice now. There is reason to speculate that the Covenant could be in the area."
The captain grimaced, while he was confident about his ship and crews capabilities against Insurrectionist forces, six UNSC ships were really only for a match for one Covenant Vessel, even if one of those vessels was a Cruiser; and the likelihood of dealing with only one Covenant vessel rarely if ever happened.

Shaking himself out of the depression, he looked down at the mission clock once more, "Prepare to enter Slipspace on the cue from the Saratoga."
Andariel nodded before her avatar dimmed as processing power was diverted to other parts of the ship to oversee the ships transition to Slipspace.
"Understood, Captain, spinning up FTL drives. Entering Slipspace in 5...4...3...2..."

The engine pods at the rear of the Frigate glowed Blue, before the Beyond Heavens Reach and the other five ships in the battle group forced their way into Slipspace, enroute to Concordia.
Nathanial looked over to the holotank, "The ships yours, Andariel, look after her while I'm asleep," he commented before heading to his designated cryo-tube.
"Sleep well, Captain, I will wake you on approach."

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