The cruiser slowly grazed the upper edges of the atmosphere and they entered the airspace of the GLEE base. Taz had overheard some ensigns talking and gathered that the weather was wet for half the year and bone dry the other half. Also that it was Dead Goddamned beautiful there.

The Glee cruiser flew lower and lower, now they were engulfed in a giant cloud system. A purple and blue lightning storm raged around the cruiser and when they descended below the clouds, blue tinged mountains came into view. An airstrip materialized underneath them. Taz craned her neck and spied cream and blue buildings standing behind the GLEE airport, set apart from a high rise city a few miles away. The appearance of the sprawling base made Taz twice as determined to get into the academy. She would be the toughest sonofabitch there ever was and...and what?.... Those putos robots no se van a salir con la suya, Taz swore to herself, No voy a descansar hasta verlos morir en agonía. She withdrew from the window near her seat and threw herself forcefully back, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. She drew curious looks from some of the ensigns but Taz ignored them. Soon they would land and she'd have her meeting with the Rear Admiral.

Pryce was sitting next to Taz who was trembling. He patted her shoulder and when she looked at him he gave her a warning glare; she forced herself to stop shaking. Once they were admitted into the Rear Admiral's office, Pryce wanted Taz to be stony-faced and to not be trembling like a chihuahua. They were buzzed in by a bored secretary.

The Rear Admiral was squinting at the written recommendations from Lt. Up, Lt. Vasili, and Dr. Mackenz. "Impressive," he murmured, "especially this one," he laid down Up's letter. The Rear Admiral sighed, "But, Pryce, what do you say?"

Taz froze at those words, she'd never even thought about asking Pryce's opinion. Pryce chewed the inside of his cheek for a measured moment, "I believe she will make an excellent addition to GLEE sir, given her age. She has already shown many of the traits that we look for in ensigns. With a couple of years of hard training she'll do very well." The Rear Admiral steepled his fingers and rested his chin on his thumbs, thinking.

Taz wanted to knock her head back into Pryce's nose and tear off the black fuzz that topped the Rear Admiral's head. That morning had been very stressful. Vasili had braided her long hair into a fishtail that swung around her shoulder and that lone bit of kindness from Vasili had sent Taz into a teeth-chattering frenzy. Both Up and Vasili had kept a constant stream of advice for her meeting with the Rear Admiral, it had been helpful but now she was so nervous she was seeing spots flicker in her vision. Don't do this, don't do that, make sure you do this and don't even think of cursing in that room, Taz wanted to puke. The Rear Admiral was speaking with Pryce for a long time but the conversation sounded far away and echoed strangely in her ears. The meanings of the words were lost on Taz, Perdi mi Ingles?

Bwop bwop bwop bwop bwop. It sounded like a trombone through a telephone.

Dimly, she felt Pryce shake her shoulder and heard the dark man say, "Approved." Taz's ears snapped open at that and she struggled for only a second to remember her English, "Thank you, sir!"

The Rear Admiral smiled at her, bright teeth shining. "Make them proud, Officer Taz." Taz looked down at the sheaf of paper handed to her, "Is that my title?" The Rear Admiral nodded," That's the normal, every day use. You're official title is Work Crew Officer Taz, 3rd Class. But that's only used in ceremonies." Pryce saluted the Rear Admiral and steered Taz to the door.

Once the large mahogany door closed behind them, neither Pryce nor Taz could do anything else but stand there and grin at one another like idiots.

When they broke the news to Up and Vasili, Pryce announced that he would take them all out to Space Town Buffet to celebrate. They invited Isa but she primly declined and closed her bedroom door in Taz's face.

The restaurant was a festive building built like a Southern house. Taz had to admit that she'd never seen anyone eat as much food as Pryce and Up. They kept getting more plates dripping with food from the buffet table. After the fifth time Pryce returned with an entire plate full of chicken wings, Vasili decided, "Where do you two put all of that food? Are you two wolves?" Taz chuckled cheerfully. The night was full of bright lights, and cheerful banter. She was happier now than she had in a long time. The events from her quinceanera were far from Taz's mind. Pryce and Vasili argued about the chances of the TuneSquad making it to the semifinals in spaceball with Up loudly interjecting every so often that baseball was much more exciting. They talked and ate deep into the night. They only left when the staff kicked them out because Up, who was tired of getting new plates, simply brought over the entire buffet pan of collard greens to their table.

They stood outside talking for a while until Taz convinced Up to give her a piggy back ride to the car because she was so full, "I feel like...tan llena que..." Words failed her so she just hung limply on Up's back while both Pryce and Vasili teased him for carrying Taz to the car. On their way back to the base, Pryce and Vasili sat in the front, making plans to go out drinking; they invited Up but he said he had to wake up early tomorrow for a meeting, "And I can walk Taz over to your room, Vasili," Up yawned widely.

Vasili smirked, "Sure. I just think it's the years catching on to you." Up snorted, "I'm not even that old! We're about the same age." Up slung an arm over the back of the seat. Taz was enjoying their arguing immensely.

"Those grays don't lie to me, Up."

Sighing, Up said, "Just because you dye your own hair, Vance." He leaned forward in his seat, chuckling at Vasili's expression. "Is dat jour name?" Taz was surprised. The car bumped along the road, high beams lighting their way to the base's main gates.

"Yes," growled Vasili, "Not all of us are blessed with sane parents nor have just a nickname to represent us." They arrived to GLEE HQ and Vasili scribbled something on a piece of paper, "Here's my entry code. After you memorize it, eat the paper." Taz wasn't sure if Vasili was joking or not so she just took the paper and slid out of the car. The night was warm when the car rumbled off, leaving Taz and Up in the shadow of the GLEE gates.

Up punched in his code for the main gates and led Taz onto the base. It wasn't that different from the one in Mexico, Taz noticed the extensive amount of greenery. The buildings were different however, not aluminum but stone and marble and poured cement. Taz stretched her arms to the sky and contentedly walked beside Up.

"Tomorrow, I'll take you over to where new recruits get their gear and where they get their schedule. It'll be a busy 6 months for you, we probably won't get to talk very much." Taz was disappointed, "And after those seis meses? What then?" He was getting use to deciphering what she said, even if it was in Spanish. Up shrugged, "You'll get assigned to a specialty. And after a few years of that, you'll get assigned to a starship and work with that crew until you become an ensign."

"I hope dat I get assigned to jour spaceship," the night suddenly seemed a little colder to Taz, although she couldn't place her finger on the reason why, "What specialty are jou?"

"Combat and Infiltration. Maybe, I'd like that. Usually most ensigns are, how'd-ya-say-it? Idiotas?"

Taz laughed at his accent, "Please, don't speak Spanish in front of me. It hurts my ears." She laid her own accent on thicker and Up cuffed her head, smirking; he continued, "Idiots then. And you've already shown yourself more capable than most of those nerf-herders."

They entered a dorm building that was dimly lit, "Fifth floor, I believe."

They traipsed together to a non-descript metal door with the names V. Vance and S. Bones stamped onto metal plates, and Taz punched in the five number code, " Buenas Noches, Up." Before he could stop himself, Up said, "Sweet dreams."

Again, Taz shot him that confused look and Up sighed. The door shut quickly. Silently, Up stared at the door for a few moments before walking away. He wasn't sure what was going on in Taz's head but he hoped she felt better than when he first slung her over his shoulder. Up quietly traipsed upstairs towards his own room (the dormitory was very large). Tonight there had been no lies in her laughter, it had been true mirth; but when she had jumped down from the car he thought that her face had slipped, just for a second. Then it was back; the mask that was serene and cold.

He shouldered through a door on the sixth floor.

"Up?"

Up squinted into the darkened hallway, "Isa?"

She stepped closer and he could hear her sniffling, she was wearing grey sweats. "What are you doing Up?" He gestured to the stairs, "Me and Taz were dropped off, I took Taz to Vasili's room." Isa hugged herself tightly, "Why did Pryce assign Taz to Vasili? V's a...difficult person to be with." Up shrugged, "Bones seems to do just fine. What do you have against Vasili?" A frown cut across Up's face.

Isa seemed to crumble a little, she slid to the floor, "I wonder if Taz would've chosen a different path if she'd have bunked with me instead of Vance for that first night." Isa said Vasili's name with distaste. Bewildered by her bitter tone, Up slid into a crouch beside her, "You wouldn't have changed anything. Taz would've probably chosen the same thing whether it was now, in three months or in three years. Why are you angry? Being a Ranger is great, I'm glad Taz chose this."

"No! No she wouldn't! And that's a positively horrid thing to say!" Isa was furious, she turned to Up and grabbed his shoulders, "She's just a child! She should be in school! Worrying about boys and shoes and arguing with her mother. What do you understand of that girl? You're an orphan."

Up roughly pushed her away and stood, every line of his stance taut, "It's true. I didn't have anyone, I still don't and maybe that's what makes me such a good soldier. What do I care if the people next to me die? Who's to miss me if I bite it? But I," he paused, unsure of how he wanted to proceed, "... I remember when I wasn't an orphan."

There was surprise on Isa's face, but she clenched her jaw, "What does that matter? You weren't an orphan and then you were. Many people have the same story because of the war. You managed to deal with it and so does everyone else." There was no pity or sympathy on Isa's face; a rare thing for her.

Up looked down at his scarred hands, a curious smile crossing his face. He was struggling to find words," Yeah... for many it doesn't matter, but I didn't deal with it like I should have. That year following the robot invasion all I wanted was..." Up fell silent and stood there, wondering if... Slowly, Up rolled one of his sleeves to his elbow, exposing the calloused skin underneath, "Lucky for me I never got what I wished for every single night."

Although there were other scars on Up's arms, Isa saw the three that he was trying to show her and the blood drained from her face, "You were that far gone, that you tried to take your own life?" She swallowed hard and continued, "But how do know Taz is that desperate too?" Rolling his sleeve back down, Up shrugged, "When I first took her to see Mac, she was like an exposed nerve. Which you'd expect out of anyone, but...she clutched that knife so tightly, I had no doubt what she wanted. But now, now that she has something to look forward to... Maybe she won't make the same mistakes I did with myself. Maybe this is a second chance that..."

Up shrugged again, his words failing him. The hallway was silent and they looked at one another, waiting for the other to speak. Isa slowly stood and wiped a few tears from her face. Up was standing there awkwardly, unsure if he should walk away or...Isa stepped closer towards him.

Up backed into the wall, "Isa?"

Although the lights were dimmed for the night, Up could see a determined look on her face, "No, Up. You have to listen now." She took another step closer and paradoxically remained silent. Up could see her wavy gold hair in fine detail.

She was too close to him, much too close.

He had nowhere else to step away; she grabbed the front of his shirt and Up attempted to pull away but Isa's grip was too strong. Isa could clearly see his irises, such a beautiful blue, she thought wistfully and was amused to see the panic in his eyes. Carefully, she laid a warm kiss on his lips.

"Good night, Up." She released him and quietly slipped away into the darkened hallway.

Up lifted his hand to his mouth, her touch was burned into his lips; he seemed to stand there for an eternity. Finally, Up retreated from the hallway and somehow made it to his own room. Grateful that his roommate was absent, he stripped off his clothes and fell into a fitful sleep.

~o0o~

* The dormitory complex is a series of buildings interconnected with walkways. Each building is named after a famous Earth Astronaut. If a GLEE personnel has a family they are given a house on base and do not live in the dormitory. Such is the case with Dr. Mackenze, whereas Up and Pryce still live in the dormitory. Pryce's room is very luxurious and large, whereas WCO's live six to a room.

Taz'lation:

putos robots no se van a salir con la suya: Those robots won't get their way.

No voy a descansar hasta verlos morir en agonía : I won't rest until I see them die in agony.

Perdi mi Ingles: Did I lose my English?

tan llena que: so full that...