A/N: After finishing the first arc - basic training - we're now entering the second one. Welcome aboard the SSV Rome! :)
On monitors on the walls, they could see from the outside cameras how the shuttle was approaching the SSV Rome. It was a smaller frigate that was able to accommodate about 100 people, as Ellen knew from the countless theory lessons during basic training. The Rome was flat and had two broad wings painted blue with its' name written on them in bright letters.
The shuttles slowly approached a landing bay, the hatch of which opened slowly. A blue, almost translucent shield protected the opening into the ship's interior, while also ensuring that no air escaped so that one could move freely in the hangar without oxygen tanks.
There was a gentle tug as they touched Rome's metal floor, then their pilot opened the shuttle door for them. Ellen looked at Norah uncertainly because they hadn't been told exactly what to expect when they landed and what was expected of them, but she just shrugged.
"Well then," Norah said, undid her restraints and stood up. After Ellen, everyone else followed her example, took their luggage out of the compartments and left the shuttle in their assigned groups through the side door, where they formed five neat rows. Ellen looked around the hangar curiously. It was large enough for the three shuttles, but with some large cargo crates and workbenches standing to the sides, it must have been pretty damn difficult for the pilots to land without crashing. Several uniformed Marines bustled about, loading or inspecting cargo and checking equipment. A tall, gray-haired man in parade uniform and with two golden stripes on each of his shoulders approached them. All members of the 231st Platoon saluted in unison.
"Move," the officer said smiling, and the marines relaxed their stances. "I'm Commander Lance and I've been looking forward to meeting you all."
He already had small wrinkles on his face, especially around his blue eyes, but he looked stern in his dark blue uniform. "Welcome aboard the SSV Rome, platoon 231," he called. "Hope you had a pleasant journey. My apologies for the chaos in here, but we will be leaving Earth shortly for several months and there are still supplies and other things to be brought aboard. I'm Commander Lance, but you already know that. Lieutenant August will show you around the ship and your quarters. You will be expected in the conference room at 1300. Until then, you have time to settle in and get changed. I look forward to getting to know all of you over the next few weeks and to guiding you as you take your first steps into active service."
The way he spoke to them gave Ellen the impression of a good-natured uncle rather than a tough commander, but his age and high rank indicated that he certainly had a great deal of experience in his career. If you wanted to make a career in the Alliance, you could learn a lot from such officers.
A wiry Marine approached Commander Lance. He was in his mid-20s, had dark brown skin and what appeared to be a freshly shaved head. Instead of the complete ship's uniform, he only wore the dark pants and a white T-shirt with his dog tags over it.
After studying the Privates for a moment with a serious expression on his face, he grinned and said, "You guys seem acceptable. I'm Lieutenant August and I'm your tour guide for today." Some chuckled about that remark, including the commander.
"Come on then, newbies, let's start the tour," he said, stumping left toward the two doors that marked the elevators. The 231st platoon followed him.
"As you can see, we have two lifts. The one on the right is the wider one and is mainly for transporting injured or cargo, the left one for everything else," Lieutenant August babbled as he pressed the call button on both of them. He gestured with an outstretched arm to the other side of the small hangar. "See that door over there where two marines are standing? This is the armory. You can find your battle armor in the lockers and you can access them at any time to clean them if necessary. However, the weapons are in locked cabinets. As you can probably imagine: We don't really like to see guns being carried around on board the ship."
The elevator doors slid open with a buzz. "Spread out between the two and go to the third level," Lieutenant August called out and led the way.
In the elevator, Ellen scanned the screen for selecting the desired deck. They were on the cargo level. Above it was the engine deck and the infirmary, which were below the crew quarters along with the mess and lounges and the command level.
"The Rome is quite small, so you shouldn't get lost here," August continued. They disembarked on the crew quarters deck and entered a spacious, metal-clad chamber where a large monitor hung on the wall directly opposite, displaying various windows such as a newsfeed and the current time. To the right and left of this, a corridor led deeper into the ship. The lieutenant led them into the right one, which seemed to run almost the length of Rome. On the left there were a series of doors.
"Since we're not working at full capacity, you have the luxury of getting quarters separated by gender," explained August, stopping in front of one of the doors.
John O'Malley, standing close behind Ellen, murmured, "Too bad, I was looking forward to it." A few others laughed.
August looked at him skeptically. "You know that fraternization is not allowed officially."
Ellen glanced at Alex, who acted as if a piece of the wall had suddenly become very interesting.
"The first room here is for the women, the next two for the men. It's up to you how you split up," August continued. "You can find the sanitary facilities down the hall. If you're looking for the mess or our lounge, you'll have to go to the other side of the ship. And with that our small tour ends. I'll go back downstairs and help with the cargo. Remember that you are expected to be at the top level in a bit." He nodded to them and walked back to the elevators with springy steps.
Ellen entered the cabin first and found a sparsely furnished room. Along the gray walls lined with metal plates stood a row of bunk beds on either side, with room for ten Marines in all. A row of lockers had been mounted against the opposite wall for them to store their belongings in. Everything seemed very cramped and when all the women of the 231st platoon had entered the room, there was hardly any room to move.
"Nice closet," Alex teased and threw herself onto the first lower bunk on the right after Ellen had put her bag on the upper one.
"How much time do we have left?" Lauren asked as she opened her parade uniform to change. She had taken the bed next to Alex and above it, at Ellen's eye level, Norah was skeptically testing the probably hard mattress.
Casey looked at her watch and groaned. "Just fifteen minutes."
Ellen hurried, shifting from one uniform to the next. Her attire for the Rome was a darker blue than that for festive occasions, but had gray stitching and rolled up sleeves. Finally, she put on her beret again, because it was ship etiquette, and waited for the others to finish.
Eventually, they all made it to the command deck in time, all appropriately dressed, where a marine led them around the elevator to the conference room.
"Oh, the women are finally here too. Sit down", Lieutenant August greeted them friendly. In the spacious conference room, several rows of chairs had been set up and assembled as in a lecture hall. The men from their platoon were already seated there, seeming to be studying the map of the galaxy displayed on the expansive screen on the far wall.
Ellen hurried to a seat and surveyed the officers who had lined up near the screen. In addition to Lieutenant August, she counted three other high-ranking men and one woman, all dressed in ship's uniform and with several silver stripes on their shoulders to mark their ranks.
"Then let's start with the brief introduction," said one of them. He had slightly longer, brown hair that was strictly combed back, a bored look and seemed a bit unmotivated to Ellen. "We, meaning Second Lieutenant August, Second Lieutenant Perkov, First Lieutenant Dexter, First Lieutenant Washington and I, Lieutenant Commander and Executing Officer of Commander Lance, van Hagen, will be observing you on missions over the next few weeks and assessing your abilities, which probably won't be very developed yet. Studies have shown that newbies like you survive longer if they've been to other planets before, because they're too tuned into Earth's luxurious conditions when they start active duty. To that end, you'll be doing at least one or two practice missions soon, if nothing else comes up. Until then and generally during the quiet time, you should keep yourself fit on your own. There is an exercising room down on the machine deck. Don't neglect it, because not only your life, but also the life of your comrades depends on your fitness. If we find you unfit, you will be suspended from duty. Are there any questions so far?"
John O'Malley called out, "Where are we going?"
"Into the Traverse," Lieutenant August replied. "We fly patrols to protect the colonies. There have been some pirate and mercenary attacks there lately." He zoomed in on the lower-right portion of the galaxy map on the wallscreen until the systems of the Traverse filled it completely.
"Now to the rules on board," van Hagen continued matter-of-factly. "Besides yours, there is our squad on this ship, but everyone has been active for at least five years and are all of a higher rank, which is why the guard duties fall to you alone. The plans for this will be sent to your Omni-Tools. In the meantime, until we find more tasks for you, you can occupy yourself as you like, but don't disturb anyone. Meals are always at 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Earth time. If you are hungry in between, you can ask one of our cooks, because you are not allowed to help yourself. We don't want you to starve, but this makes it easier to keep track of supplies."
He paused to push back a strand of hair that had slipped forward.
"You are expected to follow all orders, but that should go without saying. If you fail to do so you will get penalties depending on the severity of the incident. This applies to both our instructions and those of your Privates 1st Class when you are on missions."
August spoke again. "Just one more thing. We will reach the mass portal soon. For the jump, it would be advisable to sit down or hold onto something, otherwise you will be shaken up badly."
Van Hagen nodded. "Yeah right. Okay, so that's all the things you need to know for today. You can go."
Ellen got up and left the conference room with her platoon.
"Does that mean we have real free time now?" Alex asked, amazed.
Ellen narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "I think so."
They went to the elevator and went down another floor, but Lauren stayed in the elevator.
"You guys go ahead, see you at dinner," she called to them as the doors closed again.
"What's she up to?" Norah asked in surprise as they walked to their quarters. Ellen just shrugged.
"Entering the mass portal in a minute," someone announced over the ship's loudspeakers.
"Oooh, how exciting," Shaun said from behind them, laughing. Alex nudged him, giggling.
After the women had gone back to their quarters, John was still standing in front of the open door. "You have it nice here," he said. "Do you think I can move in with you?"
Ida walked up to him and closed the door right in front of him without comment, after which an indignant exclamation was heard from the other side.
"Entering the mass portal in three... two... one," was announced over the loudspeakers, then the ship gave a violent lurch and they could hear John fall to the ground, cursing.
"Damn it, Ida, you should have left the door open, I would have loved to see that!" Alex exclaimed, laughing.
An hour later they were standing in the canteen on the crew deck. It had been furnished with four long tables at which a few Marines were already seated. The kitchen was to their left and through the hatch window they could see two cooks busy at work.
"Sit down, the food is coming soon!", one called out to them and wiped some sweat from his forehead with a dirty towel. They spread out in small groups across all four tables. Ellen's stomach had been growling for half an hour and the delicious smells that wafted over to them didn't make it any better.
"My place," a deep voice suddenly said next to her. Startled, she turned and found a muscular Marine standing just over two heads taller than her.
"Excuse me?" she asked, confused.
"This half of the room is ours. Move to the other side," he growled.
Ellen looked around. Alex, Olivia and Norah gave her a resigned nod, so they got up without hesitation and sat down at another table.
"This will be fun," Norah murmured. "We probably better not mess with them on our first day."
Ellen watched the other Marines of the second squad aboard the Rome.
They made a very hardened and serious impression. Not a few had visible scars, and the grim faces of the men and women scarcely showed a hint of a smile even as the cook placed the steaming pots in front of them. Ellen counted them and found there were ten of them, which was little for a squad even with the officers eating upstairs.
Just as they were starting the first helpings, Lauren walked into the room, beaming.
"Where have you been?" Olivia asked.
"LC Van Hagen said we should use our free time. So I went to the infirmary and talked to Doctor Lopez. He has promised me that he will look for suitable literature and if there are any injuries, I can assist with the treatment."
"So you're allowed to put band-aids on," Alex quipped, to which Norah gave her a little smack on the back of the head.
"You sound like Shaun already."
Ellen smiled as she looked at the timetable that had just been sent to her omni-tool and was surprised to find that she and Olivia were scheduled to stand guard outside the armory for eight hours that evening.
As she ate the first spoonfuls of her stew, she eyed the Marines on the other side again. They were invariably quiet and hardly ate anything. Ellen would love to know what had happened to them.
