Thank you to those who have taken the time to review. It's very much appreciated. Here is chapter 3. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 3
Moving Out
Briggs set her cup aside and tried to blink the tired itch from her eyes. It had been a long day, starting early at the space port with seemingly endless security checks and flight delays to the current culture shock she was sitting in the middle of, and it seemed as though it was far from over. Provided with the promised caffeinated beverage, Bliant had guided her into his office and promptly began to enthusiastically bombard her with protocols and procedures, standards and expectations, ship plans and schematics. He removed the top portion of his armour as he spoke, unclipping and stripping each plate with an ease that spoke of thousands of practice runs, punctuating the movements with gestures at the holoscreen on the wall. Removing his gloves and rolling his sleeves up to his elbows he perched on the edge of his desk and gave her a long, measured look.
"All making sense so far?"
"Yes Sir"
Bliant's lips twitched. Crossing his arms and his ankles, he tapped his fingers against his bicep,
"I assume the Captain gave you the talk?"
Drawing her eyes away from the slowly revolving schematic on the screen, Briggs looked up at him from the chair he'd guided her into,
"A degree of one, yes. I don't think its quite finished yet"
"What did he say?"
"Short version… being an Army Medic is tough, I need to pull my weight, I'm probably not going to like being here but if I get in the way and disrupt things, I'll have him to answer to"
Bliant nodded,
"Rex is a good Officer and he's fair, but you don't want to be the subject of his ire…or mine for that matter"
"I don't plan on it Sir" she said, shifting slightly in her seat, "I'm not here to make waves. Just do my time and get back to the day job"
Bliant tilted his head and was silent for a moment or two. Briggs picked up her cup, drained it and rolled it between her fingers, eyes back on the schematic if only to avoid looking at the Clone who was scrutinising her closely. Bliant hadn't been unkind or unwelcoming, but there was an intensity to him that was mirrored in most of the troopers that she had met so far, their blonde Captain included. She gave the barest flinch when a large, tanned hand covered her own and gently prised the cup from her grip.
"That's enough for today. Go away and get your head around everything, try and get some rest and we'll start again tomorrow…Kix!"
He placed the cup on his desk and pushed to his feet as Briggs stood.
"Kix here will give you the grand tour and show you to your quarters" he said, as the Medic slid into the room and stood waiting by the door, "Any questions?"
"Non that are applicable Sir"
Bliant smiled faintly,
"Fair enough. Good work today Corporal. Dismissed"
"Thank you…Sir"
Kix gestured for her to step out of the door ahead of him. Axel still lay quietly in one of the bays, with Jayr hovering near by…or was it Heka? Faust; there was something about the natural set of his features that made him more identifiable, was sitting at the Medic's station, boots propped on the desk. Kix swatted them down as he passed, earning him a glare from the other medic. Coric and the other clone were nowhere to be seen. She also noticed that her kit bag had disappeared. Kix ushered her into the corridor and fell into step beside her. He moved with the same predatory grace as Rex, indicative of the strength and power of his frame, but he lacked the confident swagger of the clone Captain. Something that, so far, seemed reflected in his character. After an extended silence in which the clone walked almost languidly at her side, Briggs glanced up at him and forced a smile on to her face,
"So, where's the first stop on the tour?"
"It's chow time so Mess first, eat if you'd like, then see from there. No great rush, you'll have time to get used to the ol'girl before we got to action stations" he said, gesturing around them at the fixtures and fittings of the ship.
"Didn't the Captain say we were moving out tonight?"
Kix nodded, "We are but it'll take a few rotations to get to our ops site" he said, turning his shoulder to usher her down an intersecting corridor. As they moved away from the Med Bay the corridors got steadily busier, and Briggs felt the eyes behind every t-shaped visor on her as she passed. She rolled her shoulder's back and held her head high until the sight that was revealed as the door ahead of them slid open stopped her dead in her tracks.
The Mess Hall was huge, each long table occupied by hundreds of troopers dressed in a mixture of armour and various fatigues. A cacophony of sounds rose and fell above the constant hum of conversation and clatter of cutlery and trays. Some of the men closest to her noticed her presence, standing out as she did in a sea of sameness and as each elbowed his neighbour and they in turn nudged the troopers next them, face after near identical face turned to her until hundreds of pairs of amber eyes stared at her across the vast space. Briggs felt like a rabbit in the speeder beams,
"Shit" she breathed, eyes raking the room. Confidence was something she had always had to work on, and she'd perfected the art of projecting it long before she embodied it. It was a hurdle that had taken her a long time to get over and now she felt like the wide-eyed newbie that had stepped through the doors of CFRS training school about to have her ears screamed in and her backside handed to her every day for the next twelve weeks again.
Kix had stopped and turned when he realised she wasn't beside him anymore. The Medic's brow creased in concern,
"Everything alright Corp?"
Briggs gave herself a mental shake and strode towards him,
"Everything's fine" she gave the troopers a passing nod, "Gentlemen"
A few clipped "Ma'am"s and polite nods were returned but she was aware of the eyes following her as she returned to the waiting Medic. Kix walked her through the process, pointing out what was good to eat and what to avoid as she eyed the unsavoury looking trays of greyish gloop that most of the clones seemed to be spooning into bowls alongside the more recognisable foodstuffs on their trays. He caught her expression and smirked,
"Avoid that. Strictly for us Clones"
Briggs picked up the serving spoon and tipped the goop back into the tray, watching it splatter into unappealing lumps.
"What is it?"
Kix balanced his tray on one hand and hander her a plastiglass of juice,
"No idea, but its nutrient dense and very high calorie. We're supposed to eat it with every meal"
Briggs pulled a face, noting that he had neglected to put a portion on his own tray,
"Smells like feet"
Kix grinned,
"Tastes like'em too"
She followed him to some spare seats and picked idly at her food as he enthusiastically tucked into his. Brigg's eyes roved around the room, occasionally fleetingly catching the eye of a trooper who immediately turned his head away having been caught staring. Trying to turn her attention back to her food, she took a few more mouthfuls before she found herself pushing it around her plate again, sighed and gave up, placing her fork aside. She was nervous and uncomfortable, and her fluttering stomach wasn't appreciating the unfamiliar food. Kix had finished his meal, waiting patiently for her with his elbows braced on the table, his chin propped on his folded hands. He was looking over her shoulder, watching the activity going on behind her. As she observed him from under her lowered lashes, he narrowed his eyes in a warning, firing a momentary steely glare at someone behind her right shoulder. When she lifted her head, his expression immediately settled back into neutral.
"So why the calorific diet? Surely you guys need to keep trim to make sure your gear fits" she tapped her own armour, "This stuff isn't exactly forgiving"
Kix's rich amber eyes came back to her, and he sat back, dropping his palms to the table. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, a klaxon blared, and she was halfway to her feet before she caught herself. She had become conditioned to automatically react to certain sounds and this was so like the turnout system at the CFRS station that her body had reacted before her brain kicked in. Around her, some of the clones stood and headed for the door whilst most completely ignored the sound. Feeling a blush rise on her cheeks, she sank back onto the bench aware of the audience her actions had gained. For his part, Kix had raised his eyebrows but said nothing. She shrugged,
"Years of reacting to a similar noise…old habits and all that" she said by way of explanation. Kix nodded,
"That just means we're on the move" he watched her face slacken then stood, picking up his tray then hers, "Let's walk and talk"
Once in the corridor he offered an explanation. Told her about their accelerated growth, aging and metabolism, all with such nonchalance that he might as well have been reciting it from a textbook. Briggs wore a strange expression on her face as she processed the information,
"So…how old are you exactly?"
"Biologically or how long I've been alive?"
"The latter"
"Ten" he said as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Briggs stopped dead and gawped at him,
"Wait, what?!"
Kix turned and he looked confused, unsure of her reaction. As a whole, he and his brothers had had little exposure to 'civvies' and most of the none clone military staff had begun to get their head around the idea of purpose produced humans to fight their battles. They were predominantly treat with a degree of indifference by the majority but surprise and confusion, for the most part, had long since passed.
"I'm ten" he repeated, "ten years old"
She blinked at him, then shook her head,
"Yeah, I heard you the first time" she said, moving forward once more, "Are all of you that young?"
"Young? Ten isn't young for a clone. We're fully mature adults at nine, experienced by twelve, middle aged by twenty and old by thirty" he shrugged, "Not that we were designed to live that long"
The back of Brigg's gauntleted hand came up against his chest,
"Stop" she said quietly. She seemed almost offended, and he didn't understand why but he stood still anyway.
"Yes Ma'am"
She turned to look at him, green eyes raking over him from head to toe and back again, then she gave him a small smile,
"I meant stop with the topic of conversation, not physically stop" she said, gesturing for him to keep walking, "No more, biology slash history lesson today. Maybe tomorrow"
"Yes Ma'am"
"Briggs" she corrected him, and they fell into step again, walking in slightly awkward silence until…
"Doc!"
Kix disappeared from beside her as a plated arm wrapped around his neck and yanked him back. Turning she found the Medic held in a head lock as the other clone, bald with blue tattoos adorning his face, ruffled his hair.
"Ger'off Case" Kix wheezed, trying to break the other clone's hold until a firm wrap of his knuckles against the plastoid cod piece of the other man made him disengage. Kix straightened up and rubbed his neck, glaring at the newcomer who was grinning widely.
"What are you doing outside the Med Bay Doc? Thought Bliant didn't let you pass the doors before lights out" he said, good humour in his voice.
"I'm just showing our new Corporal around the ship" Kix said, meaningfully gesturing towards Briggs with a tilt of his head, "Corporal, this is CT 9415 known as Hardcase, one of our heavy gunners. Case, this is Medic Corporal Leigh"
Hardcase's smile grew impossibly wider as he snapped off a jaunty salute. His whole frame seemed to vibrate with a palpable energy. He remined her of a hyperactive child, unable to stand still and eyes wide with happy zeal.
"You're not clone"
The heavy gunner's enthusiasm was infectious, and Briggs couldn't help but return his smile.
"Well observed Trooper" she said dryly, holding out her hand to him, "I'm Briggs. Pleasure to meet you Hardcase"
He looked at her hand, smile dropping for a fraction of a second before springing back to his face and he grabbed her hand, shaking it vigorously.
"Likewise, Corp" it was then he seemed to register her uniform, "Fiery huh? Nice!" he said, clapping her familiarly on her shoulder with enough force to rock her.
"Case!"
Hardcase turned to the annoyed shout. The heavy gunner was still holding her hand and dragged her with him as he turned. Another clone had stuck his head around the corner. Also shaven headed and tattooed, a GAR roundel gracing the left side of his face and head with a very un-army like shadow of stubble darkening his jaw, he scowled at Hardcase down the corridor.
"Case, we're due in drill yesterday. C'mon!"
"Ah don't get your blasters in a bunch Jessie, I'm comin"
The other clone, Jessie, rolled his eyes and turned away,
"Don't come crying to me why Sarge tries to shove your beloved Z-6 up your shebs for being late…again"
Realising he still had a hold of her hand Hardcase let go of her, grinned down at her and saluted again,
"See ya Corp! Doc" he said before practically bouncing away. Clone Medic and Firefighter watched him go.
"Well, he was uh…unexpected" Briggs said, her smile lingering as she flexed her fingers.
"Hardcase is pretty unique" Kix said, looking down at her with that questioning tilt of his head that was beginning to become familiar, "What did you expect?"
"I honestly…don't really know" Briggs ran a hand through her hair, pushing the deep red curls back from her face, "Where to next then Mr tour guide?"
Kix palmed the door beside them open and she followed him though. It was an observation deck. One entire wall was made up of windows and they stepped into the darkened room just as Coruscant slid out of view to be replaced by an endless sea of stars as The Resolute turned toward her intended destination. Briggs followed the planet until it disappeared and for a moment her shoulders slumped.
"Have you been off world before?" Kix asked, hovering just behind her shoulder. Briggs placed her hands on the guard rail and sighed,
"Yeah. I'm not from Triple Zero. Been off world plenty of times on various rescue and recovery missions but this…feels different"
"Why?"
"Unfamiliar ship. Unfamiliar people. Unfamiliar circumstances. Unfamiliar role"
"But you're a medic"
Briggs glanced over her shoulder at him,
"True. But not one that's ever operated in a war zone" she dipped forward, leaning on her forearms, "The people I'm leaving behind…they've become my closest friends. My family. I worry about them, and I'll miss them"
Kix stepped up beside her, hands tucked behind his back.
"Family? Are you related to them?"
Briggs huffed a small laugh,
"No, not family in the sense of blood. That family is elsewhere and I haven't seen them for a long time. We firefighters are close group. Work together, live together. Experience the best highs and the worst lows together. Support, comfort, encourage…care for each other" she stood up straight and turned, leaning her back against the rail and crossing her arms,
"We trust each other implicitly. Trust the man or woman beside us with our lives and protect each other. I'd die for them and them for me" she sighed and rubbed her face, "It's difficult to explain"
"I think I understand"
Briggs looked up at the dark-haired Medic and thought about the relationships that might form between soldiers and more specifically, the ones that may form between thousands of copies of the same man.
"I'm sure you do"
The light cast on Kix's face suddenly changed and she turned to see the stretched light tunnel of hyperspace. She stared at it for a while, feeling suddenly hollow and, despite the hundreds of other beings on the ship, very alone. Kix's comm chirped and he brought the small display on his wrist up to his line of sight.
"Your quarters are ready"
###
"Right on time"
Rex looked up from his data pad. Cody was striding towards him across the hangar deck, helmet clipped to his belt.
"You doubt my ability to get two whole battalions ready to ship out on time Sir?"
Cody grinned,
"Never. Although according to the roster we seem to be one Jedi General short"
Rex's pauldron lifted in a shrug, but his usually carefully controlled expression betrayed his annoyance. It was a mask he rarely let slip but he was comfortable around Cody.
"He'll catch us up. Some last-minute meeting at the Temple"
Cody raised a dark brow,
"Meetings that Kenobi never gets an invite to"
Rex looked back down at his pad,
"Jedi business is none of mine"
"It is when there's one leading your unit Rex"
Rex 'hmm'd, holding his hand out for a passing trooper to place another pad in his palm. Before he could turn his eyes to it, Cody plucked it from his grip and shoved it into the chest of another trooper heading in the other direction.
"Manifests later. Caff now"
Rex sighed but didn't protest, falling into step beside the Marshall Commander,
"I'm trying to sort a quarters issue Codes"
"What quarters issue?"
Rex ran his palm over his shaved hair, "Our new Medic conscript"
"Why is it an issue? Just bunk him with the rest of the boys"
"I don't think bunking her with the rest of the boys is the best idea"
"Oh" Cody said slowly.
"Yeah…oh" Rex agreed, handing Cody his datapad with Briggs's personal record on the screen. Cody's dark eyes scanned the info and accompanying picture,
"She kick up a fuss about the billet?" he said, handing it back. Rex clipped it to his belt,
"No. In fact she insisted she was fine bunking in general quarters"
Stepping into the Officer's mess, Cody made a beeline for the caff machine, sending two of his Lieutenants scurrying.
"So, what's the issue?"
Rex shrugged, accepting a steaming cup,
"Doesn't feel right. At least not until she gets comfortable"
Cody parked his armoured backside on one of the plusher seats in the room, balanced his ankle on his knee and held the rim of his cup under his nose, closing his eyes as he inhaled the earthy steam.
"When did you go soft?"
"Cody"
"We don't have time to hand hold Rex, either she fits in and gets on or she doesn't. Regardless, stocks of cotton wool are running low"
"I don't think she's going to need her hand held Codes, she seems pretty proficient. Impeccable record"
Cody cracked his eyes open and gave his blonde brother a sideways look,
"Fighting a war isn't exactly fighting fires Vod"
Rex leant forward and braced his elbows on his knees, cup dangling in his gloved fingers. He didn't really feel like he could comment. Firefighting in the GAR was predominantly left to droids, it was never something he had been trained to do. He had seen HNE footage of firefighters going about their duties at various incidents and at times the sheer scale of what they were dealing with seemed immeasurable and intimidating. Roaring columns of flame and sweaty, soot stained faces dominating the footage. It seemed like a hard and dangerous job but, most of the time at least, they weren't dealing with something that was consciously trying to kill them.
"Yeah" he muttered.
"Bunk her with you" said Cody, placing his own cup into his lap. Rex's blonde head came up,
"Excuse me?"
"Bunk her in with you. NCOs quarters. Room of six is better than a room of sixty. There's only you, Jaeger, Idris and Torin in there at the moment and the two ARCs probably won't be hanging around" he draped his arm along the back of the seat, "Not as intimidating and you can an eye on her"
Rex looked the Marshall Commander like he's just suggested trying to attempt the galactic long jump record over a sarlacc pit. Cody chuckled,
"She's a human female Rex, not a rabid nexu"
Rex caught himself and gave a chuckle of his own before his expression turned thoughtful,
"Could work"
"Make it work Captain" said Cody, clipping Rex's greave with the toe of his boot, a grin curling the corners of his mouth. Rex stood and dumped his empty caff cup in Cody's lap,
"Yes Sir" he said with a smirk and strode away.
###
"Here we are. NCO's quarters, currently home to our Captain, one from the two hundred and twelfth and two ARCs"
"ARCs?"
"Advanced Recon Commando"
"They sound…fun"
Kix smiled, "Can be. Depends on the trooper"
He took her gauntlet and tapped something into her wrist unit,
"Temp access code until we can get your gauntlet chipped. Your bag should be here. Lights out is twenty-two hundred unless detailed otherwise and reveille oh six hundred, again unless detailed. Report to the med bay by oh seven thirty. You have a bunk, a locker and a desk and there's freshers down the corridor. You need anything else?"
Briggs flexed her fingers, then swung her arms behind her back to stop her fidgeting.
"I don't think so. Thanks for the assist Kix, but I'm telling you now, if any of you guys snore, I'm jumping in the nearest escape pod and going AWOL"
Kix smiled and his eyes lit up with good humour,
"Understood. Good evening Corporal"
With that he turned and walked away. Briggs watched him go then sighed and keyed in the access code, silently praying to room beyond was empty. Her prayers were answered. The dorm was unoccupied. She stood in the doorway for a moment, taking the room in. There were three sets of bunk beds, two against the side walls and one in the middle of the room, the heads pushed up against the back wall. Two sets of lockers separated the beds with four more against the wall either side of the door she stood in. A desk sat at the end of each bunk, obviously meant to be shared between the occupants, each with a work terminal and desk lamp. Four of the six bunks were meticulously made up and the entire room was immaculate but lacking any touches of the personalities of the occupants. Her bag had been placed by one of the lockers. Both of the empty beds were top bunks, one in the middle and one by the wall. She chose the one by the wall, pulled the bedding from her locker, kicked her boots off and proceeded to swear at the sheets until she finally had something that resembled a made bed. There was a cubby built into the wall and a reading light above her head. Hopping back down, she emptied the contents of her bag into her locker, stripped off her armour and padded off to find the freshers, wash bag in hand.
###
*SNAP!*
"Ow! Fierfek Calix!"
"Shift your shebs 9462"
Calix untwisted his towel and draped it over his shoulder as 9462 rubbed the welt on the back of his thigh,
"Why? So you can stare adoringly at yourself in the mirror?"
Calix's smile took on a nasty edge as he crowded the younger man against the sink, bare chest still glistening with shower water,
"At least I'm worth looking at, not like some nameless, mutie shiny"
9462 blushed, the pale patches that marked his tanned skin in an unusual almost symmetrical pattern darkening from nearly white to pink. Quest, stood shaving in the sink beside them glanced at them in his reflection,
"Careful Cal…our Captain is a mutie, remember" he said, tapping the shaving foam from his razor on the side of the basin.
"The Captains a vet. Proven in the field and worthy of my respect" Calix's lip curled, "This thing however"
"Hey back off Cal, leave the kid alone"
"Or what Slate?" said Calix, turning enough to give 9462 enough room to try and slip away. Slate stood behind him, black boxers sitting low on his hips, towel draped around his neck.
"Or nothing" he said casually, lifting one end of the towel to rub at his dark hair, "Just leave him alone. There are other spaces to get your business done"
"This is my space…where you going mutie?" Calix's hand shot out and grabbed the front of 9462's t-shirt, "We haven't finished our little talk" he growled, pulling the other man closer. He was so absorbed in menacing the other trooper that he didn't notice the attention in the crowded fresher moving from him to something near the door.
"Well, this is quite the performance" said a new voice. A distinctly feminine voice. Calix's dark head whipped around. A red-haired woman stood in the doorway; arms crossed over her chest. She was dressed in a navy blue and black bodysuit, similar to their own, and a wash bag dangled from her fingers. Her expression was carefully blank, but her green eyes were hard, displaying her displeasure at the scene was she surveying. Calix dropped 9462's shirt and turned to square himself up as the men around him attempted to maintain varying degrees of dignity, adjusting towels and underwear or sliding behind a conveniently placed brother. Calix didn't bother to cover anything.
"These are trooper freshers. You shouldn't be here"
"Oh, I'm well aware of where I should and shouldn't be, thank you" the woman said, strolling further into the room and dumping her bag on the end basin.
"Ma'am-" Quest started but Calix cut him off,
"You need to leave. These are clone only facilities and you are not a clone"
The woman turned to look at him,
"You know, that's the second time someone has pointed that out to me today" she said, looking him slowly up and down, "You're really quite impressed with yourself, aren't you?"
Calix bristled,
"Look lady-"
"Corporal"
"What?"
Slate heard a hissed intake or breath by his ear,
"Oh shit"
He glanced over his shoulder to find Jayr standing with a wide eyed, worried expression, water still running down his face from his wet hair.
"You know her Jayr?"
"New medic conscript. Fire & Rescue Commander"
"A civvie?"
"Not at the moment" the usually quiet Medic ran a hand over his face, wiping the water from his chin, "Bliants' going to go mad"
"She gonna rag Calix?"
"She might. She's been pretty quiet most of the day, but I recognise that tone"
Slate nodded. They all did. It was reminiscent of the one Rex used when he was about to give them a right good bollocking. It was softer coming from this woman but no less dangerous, like claws encased in fluffy mittens. Immediate warning flags went up, but Calix seemed to be ignoring them.
"My name is Brighid but you, Private, can call me Corporal"
Calix froze, "Corporal?"
"Correct. Medical Corps and I'd like to add, that whilst you may be very impressed by yourself and full of your own perceived importance, nobody else here is"
Briggs pushed off the basin and stepped into the clone's personal space,
"And, I'm assuming you think by putting on your little show, you're asserting dominance, declaring yourself as an alpha male. You thrive on the attention and think acting the way that you do somehow gains you allies, a following. You think your behaviour portrays you as a tough talking, straight shooting, strong pack leader whereas it actually shows you for what you are…a narcissistic, insecure and quite frankly pathetic bully"
Her eyes flashed dangerously and Calix balled his hands by his sides to stop them creeping towards his towel suddenly feeling a little vulnerable.
"I don't like bullies Private, and I won't tolerate them" she tilted her head and gave him a dangerous smile, "So I suggest you apologise to…?"
She turned a questioning gaze to the obviously younger clone with the lighter patches of skin that the naked man before her had been harassing when she'd walked in the door,
"9462 Ma'am"
A brief flash of confusion crossed Briggs's face before she returned to heavily suppressed resentment,
"…9462 and get very quickly out of my sight so I can brush my teeth, have a piss and get this long, tiering and confusing day over with. Am I making myself clear Private?"
Calix swallowed, colour rising on his cheeks,
"Crystal Ma'am"
"Good. Take a bow Private. Shows over"
###
Briggs tried not to run from the fresher, feeling the eyes of the troopers on her back. A confrontation had been the last thing she wanted but stepping through the door to witness an obvious act of bullying taking place had immediately raised her ire. She hadn't fully understood the terms Calix had been using against the nameless younger man but she assumed 'mutie' had something to do with 9462's physical appearance. The clone had vitiligo, the lack of pigmentation in patches of his skin made more stark by the contrast with his naturally darker colouring. Initially deciding to turn on her heel and leave the clones to their own business she caught herself. She would never tolerate such behaviour in CFRS, why should she tolerate it here?
There was a trooper sitting on a bench by the door, paused halfway through the act of pulling his boots back on to watch the unfolding drama by the sinks.
"Excuse me trooper?"
The clone's head snapped around and his brows nearly hit his dark hair line.
"What is that man's name and rank please?"
He blinked at her,
"Erm, Private Calix, Ma'am"
She nodded her thanks, crossed her arms and raised her voice just enough to be heard. It had been just as unnerving as back in the Mess with the added awkwardness of the various states of undress of the men in the room. At another time, part of her would have taken the time to admire the impressive physicality of the almost identical men but now wasn't appropriate and to be frank she was that tired and wound up it didn't really register. With Calix suitably chastised and sent scurrying with his tail between his legs she had gone about her business, trying her best to ignore the sideways glances, open stares and murmurings of the men. 9462 hadn't thanked her for her intervention and she hadn't expected him to. The young man's ego was probably bruised enough without having to be 'rescued' by a strange female and he had melted away as soon as Calix had muttered an awkward and insincere apology.
Reaching the door to her quarters she found one of the bunks now occupied. The clone in the bottom bunk by the opposite wall appeared to be fast asleep, back pressed to the wall and blanket pulled up so high that all she could see of him in the light cast through the open door was his dark hair. Not Rex then. Moving as silently as she could in order not to disturb him, she stripped her down her body suit, pulled some GAR issue grey sleep wear that was far too big for her from her locker and climbed up into her bunk, sliding her comm unit into the cubby in the wall. She rolled back and forth for a while, trying to get comfortable in the unfamiliar bed before settling with her face to the wall, curled up with her blanket pulled up over her head. She allowed one solitary tear to slip from her eyes before she scrubbed her face into the pillow, sighed and eventually drifted into a broken sleep.