Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Captain Scarlet; that honour goes to the wonderful Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. I only own the plot of this story and Lieutenant Onyx. Special thanks go to Chris Bishop for beta-reading this and ironing out any mistakes and to my friend who drew the amazing cover image for me
When Selena exited the control room, she found Captain Ochre leaning against the wall opposite, clearly waiting for her.
"Captain Grey had to go do some things for Doctor Fawn," he explained at her questioning look. "But I'm still off duty so I've been asked to take you to the photography room for your ID photo and then to the medical bay for your check-up. But first, we're going back to your room so you can change into your new uniform for the photo."
Selena nodded her understanding and the two set off back down the corridor and took the escalator down to her quarters.
"You don't talk much, do you?" Ochre said curiously as they passed the lift which led to the generator room.
Selena gave a small smile. "I prefer to listen," she responded quietly.
Ochre pulled a face. "But listening is so boring," he complained.
Selena's smile grew slightly.
"What codename have you been given?" Ochre asked, changing the subject.
Selena looked down at the box containing her uniform that she was carrying under her arm.
"Onyx," she replied softly.
Ochre raised his eyebrow. "Onyx, huh? Isn't that a shade of-?"
"Black? Yes, it is," Selena finished for him calmly.
Ochre rubbed the back of his neck. "You do know that colour is kinda notorious around here, right? I mean, what with Captain Black and all."
Selena nodded and the duo remained silent until they reached her quarters.
"In you go then," Ochre began before a mischievous grin formed on his lips. "I won't look whilst you're changing, promise."
Selena rolled her eyes but couldn't stop a grin from forming on her own lips.
"Captain Grey said that each set of quarters has their own input code?" she asked, remembering what she had been told.
Ochre folded his arms and leant on the wall next to the open door.
"Brad – I mean, Captain Grey, was right. When Lieutenant Green gets off duty, I'm sure he'll help you set one up."
Selena nodded her thanks before entering the room. She started towards the bedroom but was stopped in her tracks when Ochre called out again:
"Y'know, you've told me what your codename is, but you haven't told me your real name."
Selena put her uniform box down before going back to the doorway.
"I'll tell you my real name, if you tell me yours," she responded, placing a hand on her hip.
Ochre gave a grin. "Very well, then. Richard Fraser, at your service." He gave a mock bow, causing a little giggle to slip out from Selena's mouth. "Course everyone just calls me Rick."
Selena felt another grin tugging at the corner of her lips.
"Very well then Richard Fraser aka Rick. I'm Selena. Selena Wilson."
"Enchanté," Ochre grasped her hand and raised it to his lips.
Selena gave a soft laugh and playfully swatted him away.
"Oh stop with the chivalry and let me change." She slipped back into her room and picked up her uniform box as Ochre gave a chuckle.
As she entered the bedroom and put the box on the bed, she paused for a moment as she realised what had just happened. Throughout her childhood, she had always been isolated from the other children, partly by them and partly by herself. She could work as well as any of them and had strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others, just like them. But socially, she was distant from everyone else and rarely spoke. Additionally, she lacked the confidence required and therefore, social situations were always a source of unease for her. Working in a team, she could handle slightly better and her time at Koala Base had helped her with that aspect and, to her surprise, when she spoke her team actually listened.
Shaking her head slightly to clear it, she opened her uniform box and pulled the cap, boots, belt, tunic, top and trousers out. Shutting the bedroom door so that Ochre definitely couldn't see her,she pulled off her old senior cadet dress blues and began putting her new uniform on.
Once she had pulled the boots onto her feet, she placed her cap on her head and exited the bedroom. Captain Ochre was still waiting outside the room when she stepped out of the doorway.
"Let's go," said Lieutenant Onyx.
"So has the new lieutenant arrived yet?" Captain Magenta asked his fellow Spectrum officers and Angels, while they were eating their lunch in the food hall. Captain Grey took a sip of the coffee he had with him.
"Yep. We arrived at Cloudbase at about ten past ten this morning," he replied.
"Ten past ten?" Magenta frowned up at the clock on the wall which read 13:14. "That's just over three hours ago. Why haven't we seen her yet?"
"Well don't forget that between now and then, she's had to have had her briefing with the colonel," Captain Scarlet ticked the events off on his fingers. "Received her uniform and changed into it, gone to have the photo for her ID card taken, have a medical check-up, go and collect her new ID card and sidearm from Colonel White, and then actually unpack her belongings that she brought with her from Koala Base."
"True," Magenta conceded and took a bite of his lunch.
"Brad, you 'ave met the lieutenant, right?" Destiny Angel leaned forwards in her seat in between Captain Blue and Magenta and looked at Grey.
"I have, why?" he responded.
"Well, what is she like?" Destiny leant back again.
Grey thought for a moment. "Quiet," he said eventually. "Very quiet. Also quite shy, especially in a social sense. I was talking with one of her commanding officers at Koala Base before we left and he said that although she's generally alright in team situations, she was almost… afraid of socialising with the other cadets in her regiment."
"La pauvre fille," Destiny sighed in sympathy. "She really must be shy. We must do our best to make 'er feel welcome 'ere."
There was a murmuring of consent as the door slid open and Lieutenant Green entered.
"Hey, Seymour," Blue called to him. Green raised his hand in greeting as he grabbed a plate off the counter and came to sit down by them.
"We've just been talking about the new lieutenant," Magenta informed him. "Heh, now you're not the only one." Green rolled his eyes slightly but gave a grin nonetheless.
"Seymour," Grey took another sip of his coffee, "is it true that the colour of her uniform is…?"
"Black?" Green finished for him. "Yes. The codename that she has been given is Onyx."
"Oh! J'adore onyxes." Destiny's eyes took on a dreamy expression. "Maman used to 'ave an onyx necklace with matching earrings. When I was a petite fille, I used to love trying it on."
"They're certainly gorgeous gems," Melody Angel agreed with her as Symphony gave a sigh of longing.
"I wonder why the colonel gave her that codename," Blue mused thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
Scarlet shrugged. "I don't think that there is a specific reason for which codename is given to which member of Spectrum," he theorised. Blue nodded in agreement.
"Where is Lieutenant Onyx?" Magenta asked.
"Last I heard, Captain Ochre was giving her a full tour of Cloudbase," Green replied.
"Poor her," Melody sighed.
The door slid open again and Captain Ochre and Lieutenant Onyx entered the food hall. The new lieutenant was wearing her uniform and her caramel hair was hanging loose beneath her cap.
"Well I see the lieutenant hasn't run away from you yet, Rick," Magenta teased his best friend.
Ochre scowled at him as he removed his cap and grabbed a sandwich.
"Ha ha," he retorted sarcastically as everyone else chuckled and Onyx hid a smile. "I'll have you know that Lieutenant Onyx here has been experiencing what is known as the 'Fraser Charm'."
"The 'Fraser Charm'? My god, Rick, what have you been doing to the poor girl?" Melody stated in mock horror.
Ochre glowered at her before turning to Onyx.
"See what I have to put up with?" he waved his hand at the room and its occupants.
"I'm sure you deserve it," Onyx replied mildly, causing Magenta to give a snort of laughter into his drink.
"This girl is my new best friend," Melody declared, getting up and steering Onyx away from the indignant Ochre and next to where she was sitting.
"Spend my time showing her around Cloudbase and this is how she repays me," Ochre grumbled, sitting down next to Magenta and sending Onyx a small wink to show he was only kidding.
"So, Lieutenant…" Scarlet leaned forwards. "Am I right in thinking that in Koala Base, after the senior cadets have completed the final part of their training, they are divided into three or four groups and these groups then help the commanding officers and Colonel White decide which Spectrum Base the senior cadet is going to be assigned to?"
"Yes, Captain Scarlet," Onyx replied. "In my regiment, there were four groups. Sometimes there are more, sometimes there are less. It all depends on the cadets in the regiment and where their strengths lie."
"And what were the groups in your regiment?" Grey asked.
"Field agents, medics, engineers and mechanics and programmers." Onyx absently twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. "The better you were at your career, I guess you could call it, the more important the base you were assigned to."
"I remember these groups now you talk about them." Blue smiled at her. "During my training, I couldn't stand the first aid part of it. We all have to have some experience with all of the parts of the training by the time we graduate, but that doesn't mean we had to like it."
"I hear you," Ochre closed his eyes and groaned. "Me and mechanics do not get on. That's why I get Pat to do all of that crap."
"And don't I know it," Magenta grumbled.
"Obviously, the Angels received different training from you lot," Melody added, as Destiny got up and excused herself for her shift in Angel One. "But during that, I really did not enjoy the crash landing practice. Obviously, it's pretty vital for a fighter pilot but it was not fun at all, especially the part where we had to go into the simulator."
"My least favourite part of training was the computing part," Onyx said and Scarlet and Grey murmured their agreement.
"Oh come on, computing is not that bad," Green protested.
"Maybe not for you, Seymour, but the rest of us – except for Magenta of course, aren't computer geniuses like you," Grey pointed out.
Green was about to reply, but at that moment, the clock on the wall chimed quarter to two.
Magenta sighed. "C'mon guys, break's over." he got up as everyone else followed suit. "Back to work."
The group put their empty plates and cups on the conveyer belt that lead to the kitchen cleaning machine and traipsed out of the room, bidding the others goodbye before going off to their point of work. Captain Scarlet paused as he walked past Lieutenant Onyx.
"Well, welcome to Spectrum, Lieutenant," he said to her. "I think you're going to fit in just fine around here."
At this statement, Onyx mentally relaxed. This might actually work, she thought and had to stop a huge smile from spreading across her face.
"Thank you, Captain," she replied softly. "I think I actually might."